The Priorities of a Disciple

I want to start off this evening by asking you a question.

What is your house like when you have guests?

So we've just finished the few days of Christmas celebrations.

Thousands upon thousands of houses across the UK would have been entertaining guests.

Shopping done days in advance.

Time taken to perfect the meal plan.

Cleaning and tidying non-stop right up until the minute the doorbell goes.

Restrictions maybe on which room occupants of the house can go into and which they can't.

Does any of that sound familiar for you guys over the last few days?

So when we have guests, my wife Sabina and I usually cook and tidy the house together.

So we do the hoovering, the dusting, we fold the blankets on the couches in the living room,

we puff up the pillows and then we set the table and so on.

And once all of those preparations are done, we can't really sit on the couch just in case we make it look untidy again.

Because everything needs to be in perfect order for our guests arriving.

That's what it's like when we have guests, isn't it?

We want to have a nice home.

We want our guests to feel welcome.

We want our guests to feel appreciated and things to go as well as possible.

But if that's how we act when we have friends and family around for dinner,

imagine how different the preparations would be and even more they would be

if we had Jesus coming around to share a meal with us.

Our preparations would be more than a hundred times that, wouldn't they?

Well, that's the scene that we get an insight into this evening as we look at Luke chapter 10 together.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

And tonight we're going to see two different people, two different sisters,

and how they respond to having Jesus as a guest in their home.

So if you have a Bible, please turn with me to Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10 · chapter mention

and we'll start reading from verse 38.

Luke chapter 10, verses 38 to 42.

Luke 10:38–42

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way,

he came to a town, to a village,

where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

She came to him and asked,

Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?

Tell her to help me.

Martha, Martha, the Lord answered,

You are worried and upset about many things,

but few things are needed, or indeed only one.

Mary has chosen what is better,

and it will not be taken away from her.

Let's pray.

Father, may the meditations of our hearts and the words of my mouth be pleasing to you,

our rock and our redeemer.

Amen.

These verses are part of the traveling narrative of Jesus.

So his public ministry has begun,

and he's gathered a bit of a following now.

His disciples are with him,

and he has a big, big crowd.

And you see that from the beginning of chapter 10,

as he sends out the 72.

But this is still early on in Jesus' ministry,

and journey towards Jerusalem.

Luke mentions that in chapter 9, verse 51,

that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Meaning that every step he took,

he was walking towards the cross.

All the while teaching his disciples,

preparing them for the day that he would no longer be with them.

And calling them to live lives which glorify God.

And that's where our verses come in this evening.

They're sandwiched between two exemplary sections of Luke's gospel.

Directly before it, we have the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan,

where Jesus is teaching his disciples,

and calling them to love their neighbors.

Calling his disciples to be caring,

attentive, loving, and sacrificial to those around them.

And then directly after our little passage,

is the Lord's Prayer,

where Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray,

saying that we pray to God and God alone.

That we come before him with genuine hearts and rely on him.

And that we come before him with reverence,

because he is God and we are not.

And we come before him in humility,

acknowledging that all things come from him.

And so maybe you're sitting there thinking,

well, why on earth is he going on about all of this?

Well, I'm mentioning all of this

because it gives us the important context

that we need to look at and understand our passage for this evening.

Knowing the context helps us see

the main point and focus of our passage,

which is the priorities of a disciple.

The priorities of a disciple.

Now, I chose this passage this evening

because I think

that going into a new year,

how different would our lives be?

What are our goals?

What are the things that we want

to give our time to in 2020?

The best thing for us to do

is to have the priorities of a disciple, isn't it?

The best we can do,

the best way we can live

is according to God's word

and how it sets out the priorities of a disciple.

So tonight we're going to see

those two different responses

to Jesus in this passage.

So Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem

and comes to the village

where Mary and Martha live

with their brother Lazarus.

And we know that from other gospels.

But Lazarus doesn't really appear

in this section.

We know the village as Bethany.

It's on the main road

between Galilee and Jerusalem,

just a few miles away

from Jesus' destination.

And this was a family

that Jesus held very dear.

And so we can assume

that he was a frequent guest

at their table.

Both of these sisters,

Mary and Martha,

are disciples of Jesus.

Both of them seem to understand

to an extent who he is.

So Jesus walks into the town

in verse 38.

And you can already imagine

the hustle and bustle

as the news spreads

like wildfire of his arrival,

can't you?

Jesus,

the one who's been teaching

and doing many signs

and wonders through the whole of Israel,

has now come to our little town

of Bethany.

All the people are wanting to gather

and hear this famous teacher.

And so he arrives

and in verse 38,

he's invited back

to Mary and Martha's house

by Martha.

So let's think a little bit

about Martha

and her response

to having Jesus

as a house guest

and see what it teaches us

about the priorities

of a disciple.

Now having people around

for dinner naturally means

there's work to do,

doesn't it?

You've got all the preparations

beforehand,

the need doing,

the cooking and the tidying,

but on top of that,

you've got the work

that you need to put in

when the guests

are actually in the house.

And remember that

in Jesus' day,

you couldn't exactly

pick up the phone

and tell people

you were leaving the house

so they knew

approximately when you'd arrive.

And you couldn't drop

a text saying

that you're five minutes away

to do the last minute preparations.

And so in this time,

when the guests arrived,

it would be straight

into hostess mode.

And that's what Martha does.

She's willing to serve.

She's maybe the hospitable type

and enjoys making her guests

happy and catered for.

So she's running around

getting things ready.

But then the situation

turns a little bit awkward

in verse 40,

doesn't it?

Look what it says.

But Martha was distracted

by all the preparations

that had to be made.

She came to him,

that is Jesus,

and asked,

Lord, don't you care

that my sisters left me

to do all the work

by myself?

Tell her to help me.

Now at this point,

people can be quite harsh

on Martha

and say that she was wrong

because she was preparing

things for Jesus

and his followers.

But the fact

that she was preparing

things is not bad at all.

The negative thing

about this situation

is that she's let

her preparations

distract her

from Jesus

and his teaching.

That's what Matthew

draws our attention to

in verse 40.

The problem isn't

that she's preparing things.

The problem is

that she's distracted.

Martha is working

so hard for Jesus

that she's actually

distracted from

his presence

in the house.

So the problem

isn't service.

It's that she's

been engulfed in it

and she's taken

her eyes off of Jesus.

Now there obviously

isn't a direct

line of application

here because

I can't imagine

any of us

are having Jesus

around for a meal

in the new year.

However,

many of us

are in Christian service

to a degree.

Maybe it's preaching.

Maybe it's leading services.

Maybe it's helping

with children's work.

Maybe it's leading

the music.

Maybe it's on the

welcome team

or tea and coffee.

Maybe it's part of

the food and events team.

Whatever it is.

Whatever kind of role

you have in church

you probably know

how easy it is for us

to get so involved

in that service

that we actually

seem to forget

that we're doing

all of it for Jesus.

We forget the very person

we should be serving.

It's so easy

isn't it

to dive into

serving God

and the church

that we can become

grumpy

and grumble

at those

who don't serve

as much as we do.

But what exactly

is the problem

in that situation?

Well often the problem

is found

in our own hearts

because it reveals

that we're

maybe serving

for the sake

of serving

rather than serving

out of an act

of devotion

and worship

to the Lord.

Now don't get me wrong

this is not an excuse

for laziness

in regards

to serving God.

This isn't a call

for all of us

to put down tools

and do nothing

but it is a call

for us

to ask ourselves

the very important question

in my service

for Jesus

what are my priorities?

Am I serving Him

out of love

and devotion

or am I serving Him

because I want

to be seen

because I want

to be recognized

or out of some

unwilling sense

of duty?

The reality is

that all of our service

for God

and the church

should be done

out of devotion

to Him

out of a love

for Him

and His people.

Martha's frustration

with Mary

is normal

for those

who so sacrificially

serve with very

good intentions

but who sometimes

forget that they too

need to sit

at the feet

of Jesus.

I read a missionary

book a while back

and in it

the missionary

was explaining

how his ministry

was growing

and growing

and thriving

people coming

to faith

and it was wonderful

but then he

became really sober

and he said

ministry became

an idol.

He focused

on the ministry

as opposed

to the master.

He was so focused

on doing things

that it distracted

him from Jesus

and I think

that that is

a real danger

that all of us

need to be

on the lookout

for.

Sometimes we need

to take a step

back

and look

at the big

picture

because we can

keep ourselves

so busy

with church life

can't we?

We can fill

our diaries

and run around

non-stop

but how often

do we recognize

that we too

need to sit

at the feet

of Jesus

and just learn?

The priorities

of a disciple

shouldn't be

busyness

and distraction

from Jesus

but they should

be devotion

to him

and service

out of a love

for him.

And that's

what Jesus

says to Martha

in the most

loving and gentle

rebuke in verse 41.

Jesus says

Martha

Martha

you're worried

and upset

about many things

but few things

are needed

or indeed

only one.

Mary has chosen

what is better

and it will not

be taken away

from her.

Now Jesus

isn't rebuking

Martha harshly

for not sitting

at his feet

and learning

but he's

encouraging her.

You can imagine

the scene

can't you?

Jesus sitting

on a wooden

bench

in the garden

surrounded

by people

keenly

listening

intently

hanging on

every single

word that

comes out

of his mouth

and then he

sees Martha

working away

in the background

and he catches

her eye

and says

Martha

everything's

fine.

Don't worry

about the

to-do list

that you've

set for

yourself

just come

here

sit

join us

I've saved

you a seat.

It's so easy

for us to

become engulfed

in our working

and serving

that we become

distracted.

But imagine

if going into

this new year

our priority

wasn't filling

our time

with things

that need

doing

imagine if

we didn't

have another

year

where we're

distracted

from Jesus

because we're

too busy

to sit

and learn

imagine if

we went

into this

year

deliberately

making time

to sit

at the feet

of Jesus

and learn

that's what

Mary did

that's what

the second

sister did

so let's

think about

Mary

and what

she can

teach us

about the

priorities

of a

disciple

now two

things are

mentioned in

this passage

about Mary

firstly in

verse 39

we're given

the detail

that she's

sitting at

the Lord's

feet listening

to what he

said

and then

secondly in

verse 41

Jesus says

Mary has

chosen what

is better

and none

of it will

be taken

away from

her

now Mary

is sat

at the

feet of

Jesus

a position

of a

student

learning

from their

master

this is the

posture of a

disciple who's

learning from

their Lord

have you ever

watched little

children

and how they

copy those

around them

children learn

to do everyday

things by

watching their

parents in

action all

the time

sure they need

a little bit of

help in the

beginning in the

early years but

as time goes

on they become

more and more

independent they

become competent

and able to

copy what their

parents have

done that's how

we learn that's

why when children

are young parents

are even more

careful than

normal not to

show any bad

habits in front

of them because

they soak up

everything like a

sponge we're

born with that

natural instinct to

sit and learn it

is how we learn

by default it

is how we grow

and develop and

that's why one of

the priorities of

a disciple should

be to sit at the

feet of Jesus

like a child

listen to every

single word that

he says

imitate at him

as we live

according to his

priorities

like children we

need to soak in

the word of God

so that we can

grow into mature

believers whether

you're nine or

ninety there is

always growth

and that's what

Mary's doing

she is sitting at

the feet of Jesus

with the rest of

his followers soaking

in his teaching and

wisdom

so what does this

convey about Mary

well it shows us

that she had faith

and some kind of

understanding of who

Jesus is

it shows us that

she was willing to

submit to his

teaching and act

on it

willing to live

out his teaching

and it shows us

that she loved

Jesus and wanted

to serve him

she was one of

his followers

her posture

sitting at the

feet of Jesus

shows us that

Mary loved the

Lord

loved his word

and wanted to be

the best disciple

that she could be

now imagine if

that was our

priority as we

look into the

new year

imagine if

from the very

beginning of

2020 we make

a conscious

decision to

submit to the

word of the

Lord as revealed

in the Bible

and live in

such a way that

we give God

all the glory

imagine if we

had just an

ounce of what

we see in

Mary as she

left all of her

worries behind

and just sat

at the feet of

Jesus

if we did

this I think

our devotional

lives would be

healthier because

we wouldn't be

trying to squeeze

in that five

minute Bible

reading and

prayer in the

morning but we

consciously take

time to reflect on

God's word and

submit to it even

though it will make

us uncomfortable

if we actually

take time to be

listeners and doers

of God's word then

we will be more

open and available

for the Lord to use

us to share the

gospel to share the

good news of Jesus

with people to be

his witnesses to

the world and we

will be more joyful

in our service

if we took a leaf

out of Mary's book

and invest time in

listening to the

Lord then I think

we'd be more devoted

to him

again this doesn't

mean that we only

listen and do

nothing

it doesn't mean

that we can sit

back and relax

but it means that we

become active

listeners of the

word of the Lord

though we come

under the authority

of the Bible and

live

life in such a

way that glorifies

him the life that

we're called to

live we are called

to be perfect

because he is

perfect

by doing that

Jesus says we're

doing a good thing

in verse 42

Jesus says of

Mary Mary has

chosen what is

better and it

will not be taken

away from her

now again this is

part of that loving

and gentle rebuke

of Martha but it

tells us a little

bit about Mary's

priorities and the

priorities that

Jesus wants for his

disciples Mary chose

what was better

meaning that her

decision to sit to

listen and to learn

from Jesus was a

better choice than

preparing him a meal

it was better because

Jesus was only with

them for a short

while because soon

the day would come

when he wouldn't be

around anymore and

the opportunity to

learn from him would

be gone it was

better because Mary

was spending time in

the presence of Jesus

God in the flesh and

learning from him

we've just come through

a few busy days of

celebration and we're

going into what will

undoubtedly be another

busy year so why not

take time take a few

minutes this evening or

tomorrow or whenever you

get a chance and just

sit under the Lord's

teaching sit under the

authority of the Bible

ask for God to be at

work in your life ask for

his spirit to continue

that transformational work

in you and ask that God

would help you submit to

him ask for strength to

live as a good disciple

whose desire is to see

God glorified pray for

spiritual growth and

maturity pray that you'd

prioritize God and his

kingdom in the year that

is coming just take that

little bit of time before

the mayhem begins to sit at

the Lord's feet and Jesus

says that it will not be

taken away now we can assume

based on the context that

Jesus is speaking about

Mary listening to him and

the relationship that she

has with him he is saying

that Mary isn't wasting her

time because she is

investing in her relationship

with the Lord and that

relationship will never be

taken from her Mary's

focusing and learning from

Jesus and the things that

she is learning are the

very truths that will carry

her through the difficulties

of life they are the

truths that point her to

Jesus as God in the flesh

and the truths these truths

are the words of eternal

life nobody can take that

away from her and friends as

you sit under the teaching

of Jesus no one can take

that from you either when we

sit under the truths of the

word of God as we sit at the

feet of Jesus they are the

truths that change our hearts

they are the truths that fuel a

life of devotion and service of

God because if we know who he

is then we will want to serve him

then we will want to be the best

disciples we can be for his

glory a good indication of

someone sitting at the feet of

Jesus is someone who's being

transformed by those words by the

teaching and someone whose life is

being changed you can never really

know the scriptures until you're

willing to be changed by them

everyone seems to have a theory of

what the problems are with the

global church every Christian has had

conversations about what the church

needs to be a better place and every

Christian has pondered how we can

reach more people how we can be

better equipped to live life in a

fallen broken world but friends the

answer is not in the newest strategy

from the celebrity pastors it's not in

the new ministries by the biggest

churches around the answer is not

found in programs or busyness the

the answer is that we need to sit at

the feet of Jesus and learn

service is good but disconnected from

fellowship it's useless we don't

invite people over or go to people's

houses to sit at their kitchen tables

for them to be running around

constantly making foods do we no we go

there and we invite people so that we

can have fellowship enjoy company build

on relationships and it's the same

with service

without sitting at the feet of Jesus

service is meaningless we can do all

if we want but unless we have a

meaningful relationship with the Lord

and we're devoted to him then we're

just ticking off our own checklist of

to-dos service is important but it

must come from a healthy relationship

with the Lord and it must be born out

of time sitting at his feet and

learning friends as we draw to a close

the thing that these two sisters teach

us about the priorities of a disciple

are that we should serve out of a

devotion to the Lord but not let the

busyness of life distract us from him

and we need to sit under the teaching

of Jesus and hear his word

let me tell you that there is no better

way to spend your time than in the

presence and word of our wonderful

savior Jesus Christ let's pray

together

father as we think of this new year

coming our way

we pray that you would be our

priority

we pray that we would be humble

and Lord that we would submit to your

word

that we would set aside time to invest

in our relationship with you to grow in

our understanding of who you are of who

we are in you because of the wonderful

gospel of Jesus Christ

father help us look to you help us

focus on you and help us be good and

better worshipers of you for your

glory and for the upbuilding of your

kingdom in Jesus name amen

love you

let's gather and

help us

guys

we

love you

we

love you

you

grace

you

the

amazing