Luke 10:38-42, Are You Missing the Point?

Please open your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10 verses 38 to 42.

Now as they went on their way Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house and she had a sister called

Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving and she went up to him and said,

Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me. But the

Lord answered her, Martha Martha you were anxious and troubled about many things but one thing is necessary.

Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. May the

Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well ever totally missed the point?

I mean two years ago I realized that I couldn't drink coca -cola in moderation and so I needed to cut it out completely if if I wanted to lose weight.

So I did and then that one resolution changed my whole all my eating habits because you know if it was eating fast food

I didn't want to order the combos because that came with right fries and a drink and I just brought my own water so I wouldn't order

I just order the burger or the sandwich or whatever and so what that means I ended up not getting the fries too which isn't expecting that but that's what came with the territory and so I my weight started to come off dramatically and then

I discovered kind of recently I've discovered you know in most of these places you can order the milkshake in place of the drink do you know that a little extra price but you can get a milkshake with a combo and then you get the fries too and so I started doing that I still drank water when you're drinking coke so I that's my rationalization in my mind

I'm not drinking the coke anymore and I have the milkshake for dessert but as the weight slowly started to come back on I realized man

I missed the point I have to take in fewer calories you know it's not just coke it's not the problem now people miss the point all the time the last couple of weeks we've seen you know how the quote red -letter

Christians you miss the point of what Jesus actually says in the red letters you know about they missed the point when they ignore the

Old Testament that Jesus said in the red letters that not one jot or tittle will pass away and when they ignore the

Apostles that Jesus said in the red letters that if you ignore them you ignore him now out in the world missing the point is just is rampant you know from the school boards that ban

Huckleberry Finn or or to kill a mockingbird both of which were written at least in part to expose and combat racism that they will ban them because they say they're racist because they have a racist word in them yeah you're right the n -word is racist but you totally missed the point if you think those books are racist sometimes missing the point is funny a lot of times it's funny like like on a

CarMax commercial I think it's hilarious where this man with a chainsaw is carving this big statue of a tiger and he begins you're probably wondering why

I just carved a giant wooden tiger well the answer is that a real one would maul me one cartoon shows

I saw this cartoon shows a conspiracy theorist you know they're always in the internet looking for information to support their conspiracies and he's trying to explain to his friend these new facts that he's uncovered on the internet that supports what he's always suspected about Hitler that Hitler never really died and he exclaims to his friend aha the only evidence we have of Hitler's body is this busted skull and they just found out it's actually from a young woman

Wow his friend is amazed and says I can't believe it

Hitler was a chick or maybe this by Elwood Dowd in his book

Harvey I started to walk down the street when I heard a voice saying good evening mr.

Dowd I turned and there was this big white rabbit leaning against a lamppost well

I thought nothing of that because when you've lived in a town as long as I've lived in this one you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name now we can go on like that fill the whole time with missing the point but as a pastor

I see people missing the point all the time you know for church itself people often miss the point of what church is to be about it's supposed to be you hear the

Word of God this by the way we heard it excellent Sunday school lesson on that this morning made a great preface to what we're talking about in this very passage but you hear the

Word of God and you are built up by it but some people think you know church is to be a place where you have the stained glass and the pews and all the proper sort of holy looking stuff and that somehow elevates you so they come in here

I look at a gym and basketball markings on the floor no I'll go elsewhere you know they've they've they've missed the point some apparently think it's just to hear the doctrines they like some even some reform people are like that they want to hear their own doctrines they like and hear the words but never to be changed by them they've missed the point others want to make the church about about doing they always got to be doing something whatever there is to do it so they're the manning the nursery or they're leading the children's church which we appreciate if you volunteer to do that occasionally by the way just a side note

I'm gonna say this you know that actually there's a pastor there's two people to be careful of one is those who never volunteer to do anything won't help it to do anything and two is those who are always volunteering to do everything and take get every excuse they can to get out of the main service watch out for those people because they're missing the point for some reason but you know for those of you who do the children that that's great

I like to say if you if you're doing that you know I want to come kind of every other sick every six weeks or every month or whatever it is but if it gets to the point where you have to do it every

Sunday don't go don't do that just just say no the kids will have to stay in the service

I got to be in there at least some so anyway but some old get caught up in that because they got to do do do and and if no one else will do it they'll do it every week and then they'll complain of course about how no one else is stepping up to do what must be done for worship because we all know how horrible it would be to have children in the worship service what a choicest thing that would be no it wouldn't be so bad they might miss the miss the sermon they think but they haven't missed the point of church have they but they have we come not to do but to hear what

God has done this right here is the point of worship that you sitting quietly to listen to what

God has done or you can sit and say amen to occasionally that's fine too but you're listening that's the point the activists kind of just cringes at that there has to be something

I can do says their ego you know to add to God is it that the point they ask yeah there is something you can do listen so are you missing the point well here we see two people two sisters approaching

Jesus and very different ways one of them it one of them totally misses the point and we see that here in five parts but the preoccupation second there's a practicalities third there's propriety fourth there are principles and finally there are priorities first preoccupation the activists are preoccupied there are things for me to do there have to be it has to be something

I can do whatever it is the activists will do it that's the point of being a Jesus follower isn't it didn't

Jesus just teach that in the parable of the Good Samaritan do here

Jesus at the home of Mary Martha and he's probably with some retinue almost certainly with at least with his disciples and Martha it says is distracted right think about distracted means there's something else is taking your mind your attention away from what you should really be on she's preoccupied with being a good hostess you know all the food and the drinks and the seating and the lighting and everything that is needed and she welcomes them into her house and so she gets to work getting everything right she's busy with frenzied service she's industrious she's just bustling with activity and the point of the story be careful the point of the story is not that Jesus is just telling us to chill that he doesn't care about hard work you know he

Jesus teaches elsewhere about the hard -working servant who is to be commended because he kept himself busy he didn't just sit on his talents but he made the most of them you know

Jesus commends hard work what's the point then this is not a story of good versus evil but of good versus the best what

Martha did was good usually she just missed the point a preoccupation means that you're missing the best because of something that's less good this is not an invitation to laziness you know just sit around a chat and text and and message on Facebook say well

I'm a Mary no you're not you're just being lazy when there is a lot of work to do and when we were in Ethiopia Mary had a conversation with an

Ethiopian there about how much people in Singapore worked usually about 50 hours a week you know

Americans are known in a lot of places around the world pretty hard -working people you go Singapore it's compared to them maybe not so much but Mary was talking about you know they

Singaporeans would often work 50 hours a week maybe more than there may be classes at night after they get out of work they'll get home late and get a little bit of sleep and they'll wake up early again to start on it all over again and the

Ethiopian thought well that's the way life is it's not worth living but that's the kind of hard work that has made

Singapore from a desperately poor country like Ethiopia no you're not quite as bad as that but it was poor about a generation ago to what is now a very prosperous one and it's that's given people longer lives better better medical care so children don't die unnecessarily and it's that kind of industriousness that hard work you know that's not a preoccupation just a distraction just something we shouldn't care about it's not a distraction unless you forget why you're working so hard what life is all about now here

Martha is preoccupied because she's forgotten what it means to have Jesus in her house the she's forgotten the point of having

Jesus there she sees mouths that need to be fed instead of the mouth that brings her the word of life what's the point

I mean you got to be practical right I mean come on I'm that's what Martha's thinking

I've got to be practical someone has to be sure that we have enough breadsticks right she's that's someone's got to look after that Mary's not doing it it's got to be me and these guys they're not they're useless he's thinking she's scurrying about getting everything in order keeping the

Fred breast sticks coming and she's grading enough cheese on your salad until you say enough and on and on and the point of this story is not to condemn practicality you know we usually need to be practical sometimes kids need to be told that mom and dad can't play with you little kids all the time because we've got to take care of your practical needs got a you know we got to put the roof of your head and the food on the table and clothes on your body sometimes we guess we gotta relax too you know sorry we can't play chutes and ladders every you know on and on and on every day our video games with you hours and hours every day not because we don't love you because we got to we have to practically provide for the things you need and that's not unspiritual that's not un -christian some

Christians today insist that we should sacrifice the practical for a greater good of usually it's the greater good of at least a mother staying home with the kids all all day maybe but you know the noble woman of Proverbs 31 everybody that what did she like is she staying home with the kids all day she was a working woman she's practically providing for her family she's going out of the house providing for her family her work wasn't a distraction from being a mother maybe what the kid maybe what the kids need in at least sometimes is to be taught you know hey

I'm sorry that we can't entertain you all the time but we have to practically provide for the things you need maybe they need to be taught that the world is a revolve around them what's the point what

Martha is doing isn't usually bad it's usually good you know you'd like to have a

Martha around keeps the place clean she puts good food on the table I mean she's nice to have keeps the house in order it's practical to be practical means you've taken a serious look at what needs to be done and you're doing it even though you'd rather relax

I mean right Martha would probably rather be just a little sitting around too like Mary would at least part of her wouldn't she now some

Christians have a false spirituality in which they think being practical is carnal that it's unbelieving that living by faith means you're supposed to ignore the real world with this practical needs you could pray for it but you know you don't need to have anything to do with what it what it needs so if the projector is it working you just pray you don't get up and try to fix it if you're hungry or you need a place to live you just ask

God for it that's then you stop there you just hope it falls into your lap you don't pray and then also get a job and earn money and find the house and buy the groceries that last part is just shows you're not you're too carnal the world of practicality they think and the world of spirituality are never to be mixed that's what it's the way they see the world the

Bible doesn't teach that at all you know and Thessalonians Paul says you got these people they thought they thought they were so spiritual

Jesus is coming any moment now I'm gonna be that's all I care about and so I'm not gonna work practical work that earns money they think it's for those of little faith

I'll mooch off of them and Jesus and Paul told them if they're not gonna work don't let him eat don't feed them that'll get through to them

Martha is just being practical she thinks and she looks down at her lollygagging sister and thinks you know not only is she wasting her time but she's putting all the practical needs on me and if this were any other guest that might be true the practical person looks at the real world sees things as they really are and does what must be done the problem here is that Martha doesn't see the real -world truth that she's hosting the truth in person what's the point is it that propriety that good manners doesn't really matter you know

Martha is being proper here she's the proper one Mary's not supposed to be sitting down with guests at her home that's improper anyone hosting visitors wants to make a good impression how the food available you want to have the drinks flowing and especially in that culture where they especially honored hospitality in proper propriety demanded putting out an impressive spread and we know from other parts of the

Bible that people you know would go to neighbors to get help if suddenly a visitor arrived as they you just have to supply well for whoever's visiting get the neighbors to help and so they could have everything for a comfortable and enjoyable visit here

Martha is intent on being the best host for the best guest and verse 40 said that she was busy with much serving anyone's cup getting half -empty she's right there with a refill the breads getting low she's putting a new batch in the oven feet are being washed pillows are being laid out to lean on they're getting first -class service or at least as much as Martha can provide all by herself it's impressive she's desperate to leave a good impression on all the visitors about how proper she is again the point of the story isn't that we shouldn't care you conclude well

I'm gonna follow Mary's example I'm just not gonna care whenever a visitor comes by I'm just gonna sit down and chat you know you just tell them hey go get your own food at the local

McDonald's I watch TV no that's just being a being a proper host or properly here properly greeting visitors at the door

I mean people come here they don't know where we sit they don't know why things are as they are you need to greet visitors at the door because it's putting yourself in their position you'd be polite you'd be caring you show that you care about other people's feelings and their needs it's a way of loving your neighbor as yourself right just what

Jesus taught in the earlier parable the Good Samaritan and our culture teaches us how to properly attend to other people's needs now the

Chinese would say our Western culture doesn't do that as well as theirs but that may be the truth but ask them if they've eaten right that's the typical

Chinese greeting by the way I don't know what in Chinese but the typical Chinese greeting when you greet somebody is have you eaten and of course if they haven't you supposed to put supply that you supply you provide them with food and you and drinks and you a place to relax improperly ignoring what people need that's just rude

Martha thinks Mary is being rude here because Martha has forgotten Martha has forgotten what people most need so because she's serving for the great cause of propriety and here we get to the great irony of this story this is because that's what's going through Martha's mind right she's doing the proper thing this is the the cause of propriety but look what it drives her to in verse 40 she says

Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone tell her then to help me let me think about that she's trying to host

Jesus and she's complaining to him notice three things about that first the confusion second the accusation and third the presumption first think

I'll confused all this service has made Martha you know in her zeal for propriety she ends up doing the most improper thing she complains to the guest that she wants to impress she's so wound up in her goal you know she's gonna be the hostess with the mostest she forgets the reason to be a good host to serve the people you are hosting right put them at ease give them an enjoyable time you don't complain to them that's what she's doing now she's complaining to Jesus her frenzy of activity has caused her to forget the purpose of her activity and this happens to Christians all the time in the church they set up with a good goal a mission a purpose maybe for you know for missions for evangelism maybe to plant a reformed church or whatever it is and so with that they then set out to serve for what they think is that purpose and they get caught up in all that service and in the things that come become necessary they've got to get chairs and they got to get

VCRs used to be VCRs TVs projectors and balls and bands and buses and so on and then as they're getting and arranging all this stuff as they're serving they forget the purpose of it all if a chair is broken in a youth meeting they'll shut down the youth meeting to save the chairs if they're afraid that moving the

VCR to show the Jesus film to the poor Ethiopian kids all around them that that might damage the

VCR they'll choose to save the VCR if we want to reach lost guys and around here who wear those horrible fashion where that came up with this is a horrible horrible fashion of wearing sagging pants but they want to reach them but then they get so offended by the sagging pants that they you know path they just make a fit about it and say you can't do that here end up driving them away just this week

I read a major reformed leader decrying drums in church that's just one of the horrible thing

I have drums in church even though the Bible what suppose what's it mean to be reformed it means sola scriptura and by the way scripture speaks of symbols don't speak of organs right this guy has an organ in his church

I'm not against organs but you know mr. reform guy you're the one with something in your church the

Bible doesn't talk about not the people with the drums now in our confusion we undercut the very purpose that we set out to serve here

Martha set out to impress Jesus and the disciples with her you know with her fine fine service then she destroys that by complaining to the very one she meant to serve she just didn't make a complaint but an accusation notice in verse 40

Lord do you not care you know she's not just blaming Mary she's blaming

Jesus himself Mary's failure to get up and help Mary you know with them put bread in the oven and clean up with it and we'll do the dishes that wasn't just that wasn't just Mary's problem it's

Jesus's fault Martha says you know he should be setting her straight doesn't he understand what

I need I'm slaving away and you don't care and this happens to us when we set out to serve

Jesus and the Lord Jesus doesn't quite seem to cooperate with our plan on how to do it

Lord don't you care so -and -so is it doing what I want him to do don't you care the crowds aren't flowing in and we're not just huge and big and successful and we're not building buildings

Martha now or us here it is not just complaining about or trying to correct other people we end up accusing the

Lord himself of not caring about us if our service doesn't turn out like we thought don't you care and we accuse

God of being uncaring and callous and burdening us with more than we expected because we got caught up too much in doing and achieving in our grand vision of the greatest ministry the best family the most glorious dinner party our expectations whatever it is of what what we needed to serve him

Lord we're trying to serve you and you don't care imagine the presumption of that presumption

Martha or us so full of what we think that's presumption of what we think that we know is the right way you know the dream we've had of the greatest ministry the greatest family though the party the meeting whatever it is so full of that that's presumption that we forget we're complaining to to who to the

Lord Martha should know here I mean she even calls Jesus Lord's way she addresses him notice that Lord you know means master she should know that means that you know master he's the one in control right if she really understands he's the master okay he wants

Mary to listen to him he must be right but she doesn't think that way she calls him

Lord but we can do the same thing forget that he's in control and so we eat we forget that we forget that so easily what

I mean him needs to be the Lord especially when we're full of our plans we're distracted by all our activity or tell her

Lord you tell her what I tell you to tell her

Lord it's presumption to think we know the best we know better than the

Lord himself we know so much better we can even tell the Lord what to do Lord I need whatever that a spouse or money or health whatever you know

Paul learned better Apostle Paul learned better than when he prayed he prayed three times that the

Lord would take away his thorn in the flesh probably some ailment he was pregnant Lord I need to be healed of this to go on serving you and the

Lord responded my grace is sufficient for you in other words

I know better than you about what you really need most of all you need grace people presume on the grandest scale when it comes to their salvation when they think that they can tell the

Lord that all their activity has saved them they can tell the Lord what activity is gonna save them and that they've done the activity that has saved them the

Lord Jesus said that at the judgment some people will be so presumptuous that they'll come up to him boasting about all that they've done

Lord Lord did we not do this and that that we decided should be done all the proper stuff did we not do it in your name we did stuff we chose to do but we did in your name we slap your name on what we want to do

Jesus says he'll tell them away from me you worker of lawlessness lawless person who not under control of any law of the

Lord does what he wants to do presumptuous and you people away from me you people so presumptuous that you thought you could state the criteria for your own salvation and then you can say that by doing this and that you busy yourself presumptuously doing it announce yourselves saved

Martha in her confusion presumptuously accuses the Lord of not caring because he's not doing this meeting in her house like she thinks it ought to be done and so the

Lord Jesus responds in verse 41 Martha Martha you imagine the tone but you can almost almost be sure it's still 2 ,000 years later you can you can hear the compassion the tenderness echoing in his words

Martha Martha you're anxious and troubled about many things you know the food the drinks the cushions the wash feet and hands the oil the lamps the cleaning up on and on but one thing is necessary there are principles in other words principles determine what is really necessary what is secondary what is even further down the list what are the principles well

Martha thinks she has principles practical needs have to be taken care of you know that artichoke dip is it going to refill itself right being practical is a principle she's proper guests have to be well looked after especially a problem such a prominent guest is

Jesus himself I mean if Jesus were coming to your house when you want to have the best of everything sure you would hospitality is a principle all true but what's the point the point is that what

Martha gets wrong is what so many Christians today get wrong their principles are all mixed up what's wrong is that they lack the main principles the chief principles man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God that's the point what's the point you know this story is not what some commentators say it's a clash of temperaments it's the contemplative

Mary versus the activist Martha that's not really the point of this story the principle is it just to tell us to learn to be quiet to sit and to chill to not be so busy it's ironic how many of the interpretations of the story which is about missing the point miss the point normally

Martha would be right you know normally we need practical people caring for our needs but the point here is about priorities when it comes to Jesus when it when it comes to the

Word of God practicalities principles propriety but even principles lofty principles like family first right those take a backseat as a

Puritan said Christ cares not to be entertained delicately but to be heard diligently here in verse 42

Jesus said one thing is necessary now he doesn't mean one thing that's all he doesn't mean chicken just chicken that's enough

I don't need the beef and the mutton and the fish and no no that's not what he means he means the

Word of God that's necessary everything else is luxury the chicken and the drinks and the cushions and the padded chairs and the projectors the musical instruments our priority must be the word when the word is taught listen all else is secondary

Mary Jesus says has chosen the good portion right that's how you know the one thing that's necessary is the word because that's what

Mary chose she's chosen the good portion listening to the word that was her priority even over practicality over propriety even over her nagging sister people today are preoccupied maybe they're preoccupied with making a living you know they can't come to church they can't hear the

Word of God because you know they've got to make money right we've got to be practical they think we've got bills to pay you know maybe later maybe when

I'm more comfortable the business is more established then I can come back to church but even if you do you know even if you keep that okay for now you make you establish the business you make it successful later on you come back to church you're still coming back with mixed -up priorities sure you're coming back to church fine but you're coming back because now you have a bunch of money in this in savings but your priorities are still money first they say well you're not being practical

I have I have a business to make profitable yes and some prosperity teachers will promise you that God will bless you you put church if you go to church sacrifice a few hours if you close a few hours on Sunday morning you make it at your

God will bless you if you at least you come to my church you'll make it you'll make even more money than if you didn't you'll miraculously profit from closing in other words you can have your money first priority and the

Lord no you can't

Jesus said you can't serve God and money cannot be done and maybe he won't prosper you if you close a few hours on Sunday morning to go to church maybe he'll challenge your priorities maybe he'll teach you that his grace is sufficient that you don't live on bread or whatever else your money buys alone but on the

Word of God but I have principles they say I got to provide for my family good but don't you see what your family needs most is not new cars and big houses and luxury vacations the newest gadgets but the life that the

Word of God brings priorities our priority must be the

Word of God it's the one thing that is necessary it's the good portion that Mary chose it's what brings us faith and so through faith brings us a right relationship with God and so all of God's blessings this is why this story comes immediately

I think comes immediately after the parable of the Good Samaritan some activists could read that parable and think our priority has to be action preach the gospel at all times they say and if necessary you really have to use words ah so clever they think you know because it suggests we can preach the gospel just with our actions we don't have to say anything especially anything that might offend anybody we preach the gospel by being a good neighbor help the needy making snacks providing drinks standing up for justice going on marches and something that is the message of Jesus but first remember the context of the parable of the

Good Samaritan what must I do to inherit eternal life the first answer was love God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength and then your neighbor as yourself and the love for God and for or and for neighbor comes from God it comes from his word and we love

God by loving his word and second people do not see actions no matter how charitable you make them a meal and and necessarily hear the gospel you know only if the spirits really work it in their life they might they might think right they're hungry and you make them a meal they might think hey

I'm worth it these people are rightly giving me what

I deserve it's only through the Word of Christ it's only through preaching and teaching you sharing about Jesus about who he is that he is the

Word of God incarnate but who you are a desperately needy sinner by what

God has done that he sent his son to take our punishment so we could be right with God it's through the

Word of Christ that God gives us faith so that people can be saved it's through the

Word of God that there were built up and then our minds are transformed so that we're different from this world so that we can then walk in the

Spirit rather than in the flesh it's it's the Word of God that is our sword of the Spirit that we can use to take every thought captive to obey

Christ so that the kingdom of God can come into our lives that's why preaching and teaching or sharing the

Word must be our priority so Jesus says in verse 42 that what

Martin what Mary has chosen the Word will not be taken from her you know everything else people make a priority everything else that takes them away from the

Word you know the business they got to keep going the money the cars the houses the relationships the things that preoccupy them the boyfriends the girlfriends the iPhones and pads the great stuff even good stuff like family the noble duty to have supplied for your children the clothes and the food and the education they need all of that can and will be taken away eventually all the things many of them good what

Martha is doing here are good things that she's supplying or maybe bad things all the things that preoccupy people now will be lost but the

Word of God heard still today in the Bible by the

Spirit that will not be taken away if you listen to it it won't be taken away from you of course what

Mary was doing with you know she wasn't just attending like some people attend church services but with their minds you know floating off elsewhere what's coming for lunch are we going to eat after this

I'll be in soon she was in verse 39 listening to his teaching now it was unusual for a teacher in that day even just to allow a woman to listen and here

Jesus shows that he'll allow anyone to listen if they're really listening you know they're they're not only here and Mary's not only but maybe hopefully you are not only changing your minds because you're paying attention being transformed by what you hear from the

Word of God but also then changing how you live there are people there are people though who have been attending church services for decades and yet in their old age they talk about how important it is what's important to them their priority is for their husband to be buried next to them and husband who doesn't attend church hasn't in decades to be buried next to them in the church cemetery so that they'll be together in heaven you know

I hear that I wonder have you ever heard a thing in all your years of church attending did you listen to a single thing and so what's the point of preaching to people who haven't been paying attention you know why bother why go through the motions if after hearing sermons and lessons their priorities are still the dollars the boyfriends the business the cars the games if after all that preaching they still know so little about the gospel that they think salvation comes from being buried in a church cemetery what's the point what's the point of you being here is it a habit you were trained in as a child and now you kind of forgotten why you do it but you're just going through the motions yes

I'm here to hear the Word of God you know the right answers I understand but are you listening are you being changed by it challenged by it occasionally embarrassed by your failure to live up to it from time to time are you transformed by it so that now you do live by it more more than you used to are you growing to know and love

God know and love Jesus more are you living under his rule more the more you hear the