June 11, 2006

Our Faith is What He Seeks

Hi Folks: Pastor was away this weekend and usually that means you get to read the last sermon again. This time, I dug one out of the archives for your edification. Enjoy

MARTHA       MARTHA

Luke 10: 38 -42 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. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was loaded down about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, do thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

In this vignette from the life of Christ we see two servants. One, is very like most people I know, busy as all get out in fact often so burdened down with the stuff They “gotta” do They get miffed at others who don’t want to help. Recognize her?

The other is also a servant, not perfect, being perfected by learning at the feet of the teacher. By doing the one thing that is necessary, being a disciple. She too serves, we see her later offering sweet worship with careless abandon. But her service is sourced in love and isn't concerned with what the others person is doing.

First let’s see : Martha’s Driven Service

You know the story, Jesus was a frequent guest here in this home. He also was a rather welcome guest at Lazarus funeral too a bit later on. Here Martha is in the kitchen and cooking up a storm. Now don't be too hard on her. Be honest, if Jesus was coming to your house, you’d have a similar sense of drivenness, be honest about it. Even the husband MIGHT actually get away from the tube and help tidy up. There is not one thing wrong with WHAT Martha is doing, at least as far as fixing dinner goes. Her problem come in another area, an area that plagues all of us perhaps at one time or another, the area of attitude.

Martha looks at the task to be done, sees she’s behind and then spies Mary! A WOMAN was not usually considered to be among a rabbi’s disciples.
But Jesus was different, he welcomed them. But Martha perhaps thought it just wasn’t proper and Mary should be as driven to help as she was.

She speaks and notice what she says: Don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Make her help me. Like most driven people she wanted to guilt others into doing things her way, even trying to guilt manipulate Jesus here. Oh don’t be too hard on her, you would try it too , He knows the deals you have tried to make...

The thing about perfectionists is that they don’t necessarily want things perfect, just want them to THEIR satisfaction. They set the standard and no matter how nice you say it looks they are still going to fret and fuss over it in a worried manner until Jesus comes, or as in Martha's case even after he shows up. You could almost hear Martha threatening Mary, Mary if You don’t help I’m going to tell Jesus.

Our Lord knows how to deal with driven people. He is one who used EVERY MOMENT PERFECTLY. No waste of time or materials with Him. Jesus was never a slacker But He knew what was of the highest priority and spent a great deal of time just being with people. Not driven to get them out knocking on doors, not pressuring them into taking on Sunday School classes But Just spending time teaching them to really know God. And he answers Martha in His soft gentleness. Martha, you are loaded down about with much serving. He isn’t zapping her for her serving, but her attitude. Cumbered about, drawn away, metaphor, to be driven about mentally, to be distracted to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing OCD, Worry?

Martha, the work you are doing is fine, but it doesn't make me any more or less fond of you. You are loved by Father period.

Get over the religious zealotry and enjoy yourself for heaven's sake. Somehow we can get into the mentality that If we are REAL spiritual, then we will be real busy.
Now we may be, but lets take a look at The Master's view of that:

I have a few questions first. When Jesus went to the cross, were all the hungry fed? Were all the sick made well? Were all the wounded healed? All the bereaved comforted? All the Counselees counseled?

Then what do you suppose he meant when he said in John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do.

Does it mean we are to not work? Or does it really mean that He has set priorities and tasks for all to share.

Martha was burdened with all the busyness of religious fervor. She possibly had an attitude of superiority Look at how hard I am working. Legalism always makes a standard to compare itself with others. Or She may have wanted to earn favor with God I don't know, I just know that Jesus had a different agenda both for her and Himself. And it is displayed in the other character in this scenario. Lets look at Mary's Devoted Service 39-42 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Now the phrase sat at Jesus feet isn't just a position. It is the common term for being a learner or disciple of a rabbi.

Women were not usually in that circle then, as we have mentioned, but here was Mary. Listening to the Word of God.

There is perhaps something we need to catch in this. Something urgent : the working out of the love of God. You see Jesus isn't saying Mary should not DO anything, not at all, BUT he may be saying attitude, motive is everything. Mary has chosen the One important thing.

John 6: 27-29 Labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Faith in Jesus Christ is the only possible way to please God. Heb 11:6 says it plainly, “without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.”

Our Faith is what he seeks.

Now watch what happens a bit later John 12: 1 -8 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus , whom he raised from the dead now lived. There they fixed him supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, said “ Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” He said This, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and carried what was put in it.

Then said Jesus, “Leave her alone: she did this in preparation for the day of my burying. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.”
Faith in Jesus, understating who He is and what he teaches, leads to a genuine love which is displayed in overt acts of worship. “If you love me,” he said, “then keep my commands to love each other.” But here he indicates we are not to be burdened down with a works oriented guilt driven service.

He stated it like this: Matt 11:28-30 Come unto me, all of you that are exhausted with toil or burdens or grief and are loaded down with heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. Because my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Not a drudgery of service here is there? No! It is being filled with Christ, the Word of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, and filled to overflowing.

1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when you received the word of God which ye heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectively works also in you that believe.

This RELATIONSHIP to Christ fills one up, and service from a full heart overflows. Paul, applauds this in 1Th 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work sourced in faith, and labor motivated by love, and patience springing from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
Also the writer of Hebrews says in 6:10 “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor sourced in love, which ye have shown to his name, in that you have served the saints, and still serve.”

Mary had chosen the necessary and became one of the love servants of Christ. She understood that service is simply love in work clothes.

Now good fundamentalists that we are, we always try to add to that.

“Yes but if it is done for the wrong motive it still needs to be done right? We say “God loves a cheerful giver, but then add “but he also accepts from a grump.” NO! What needs to happen is this; we need to sit back down and realize that God, who is quite capable of creating and running a universe, only wants love from pure hearts, service sourced in love. So when you have dried up, get your roots back to deep water and soak up Gods truth and love and let it leak out for heaven's sake.

If you stay dry and hard there is a problem, Grace does not mean looking for an excuse not to serve, it is rather provision of the love to serve.

Also our service is not a way to pay God back for all He's done. The audacity of trying to repay a gift like that is absurd. How would you feel if you gave up your child life freely and someone thought they could make it up to you in any way?

Now if they did things because they honored that sacrifice you would be grateful and pleased, I think. So it is with God. Do not try to buy what he has bought, just use what He has given. Serve the Lord with GLADNESS the psalmist sang in Ps.100 and Ps 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

And Really check out / Deuteronomy 28: 45-48 Moreover all these curses will come on you, and will pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you didn't listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you: And they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your offspring for ever. Now here it comes, get this : Because you didn't serve the LORD your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything Therefore you will serve your enemies which the LORD will send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of everything: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until he has destroyed you.

Does God want Joyful loving service? YES. does God bless us because of our labors? Hmmm, actually He does reward us FOR it, but one thing you need to know is best said in a quote from Martin Luther in his exposition of Deut. 8:17-18 There he speaks of Blessings that at times come to us through our labors and at times without our labors BUT NEVER because of our labors; for God always gives them because of His undeserved Mercy.

What do you have that you did not receive? What service can you render that doesn't stem from a gift of a loving God?

Folks, We need to be challenged to live our lives as missionaries every day and the first step in being a servant of the God who is love is to Love the God whom you serve.

Then your life will matter far more for with His love constraining you, you will not give up even though you may falter along the way.

The Dash

I read of a reverend who stood to speak , at the funeral of his friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning...to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears,but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth,
and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own; the cars, the house, the cash.

What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard, are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left. (You could be at "dash midrange.")

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be pleased with the things they say about how you spent your dash?

Do you love? Is that why you serve? Now you think about that....Amen