Choosing the Better Part: Prioritizing Devotion Over Busyness

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word, but Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me’. And Jesus answered and said unto her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’.” [00:17:58]

Service is an extremely important virtue in the Christian life. In fact, service is considered one of the means of grace. The means of grace are those instruments, those things that God gives to His people to assist them and help them in their personal growth in righteousness and conformity to the person of Christ, and so we serve not simply to do a good thing, but as we serve each other and serve others in this world, we’re aiding in our own spiritual growth, in our own sanctification. [00:404:76]

Listen to Jesus’ answer. “Martha, Martha.” Now if you’ve heard me preach on Matthew 7, you know the significance of this address because over in the other building when we were going through the gospel of Matthew, I preached a sermon where at the end of the sermon on the Mount, I said the scariest thing that Jesus ever taught was when He said at the end of that sermon that on the last day many would come to Him saying, Lord, Lord. [00:545:28]

Here there’s only about five or six times in the New Testament where anybody is addressed by the repetition of their name, and this is one of them, indicating that when Jesus rebuked Martha, He did it in the most tender fashion possible. He looked at her, “Martha, Martha. You’re worried. You’re so troubled about many things. I can see that, but you have to understand something. One thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part.” [00:635:82]

Now notice that Jesus didn’t say, Martha, Mary has chosen the good part, and you’ve chosen the bad part. Jesus is not saying that serving the way she had been serving was a bad thing to do. This is not a contrast but a comparative analysis. Basically what He’s saying is what you have been doing, working to prepare all of these things and serving is a good thing, but the better thing, the higher thing, the higher calling is the one that Mary has undertaken. [00:677:22]

Now here in this little brief description, we get a clue as to how the first century church spent its time in worship and in the assembly. They came together first of all to devote themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, as well as for fellowship, as well as for celebration of the Lord’s supper, as well as for the offering of prayers and the giving of the sacrifice of praise in worship, but one of the things that marked that early church was their dedication and devotion to the teaching of the Apostles. [00:811:80]

You know, on Sunday morning, we don’t just have worship. I believe, and I think our whole session believes and our whole ministerial staff believes, that the single most important thing that we do in this church is corporate worship on Sunday morning. There’s nothing more important for our souls than to be here on Sunday morning for worship. The author of Hebrews in chapter 10 exhorted the people of that day not to neglect the coming together in the assembly of the saints. [00:865:14]

The point of that little story is this, that our attendance in church on Sunday morning should not have anything to do with whether we feel like it. God calls us to solemn assembly as His people, as His congregation, and we are to be here if we possibly can, and so I challenge you to make it a matter of principle. Say no to the inclination to sleep in one out of four times, but be here, and make sure that you’re here, not just for your soul but for the whole people of God who encourage each other by useful presence and fellowship; but most importantly, I don’t know about you. I need to be in worship on Sunday morning. [00:1006:62]

If you notice the pattern, not only in the first century church but throughout church history, that people who grow in grace not only are always in worship, but they are devoted to study, to grow, to show themselves approved, not so that we gain knowledge to be puffed up, and arrogant, and proud by our theological acumen or something like that. No, but we need to have our souls fed, so I’m suggesting to you, I’m urging you that you give all of Sunday morning to your Christian development, your Christian life; not only worship, but also make it a point to be involved in learning the things of God. [00:1126:08]

Finally, Jesus said, “Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” If we choose to spend that time with Christ, if we choose to devote ourselves to being at His feet, to take everything we can from His teaching, whatever we get won’t be taken away. That’s God’s promise for you. [00:1344:06]

That’s why Christian education is so important, not to pass a test, not to get a degree, but that our core thinking may be informed by the mind of Christ, and so again, I ask that this week you’ll give serious consideration to increasing your study of the things of God and taking advantage of those courses that are made available to you here at Saint Andrew’s. [00:1309:44]

I talk a lot about justification, and we can’t be sanctified unless we’re first justified, but we’re justified unto sanctification, that God saves us that we might be changed, that we might be brought into conformity with Him. I’ve told you this before, the Old Testament tells us, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” It’s not that the Old Testament writer confused the organs of the brain and of the heart. We think that thought takes place in the brain. The Old Testament author understood that. [00:1235:46]