Hearing God's Voice - Choosing BEST Over Good (Message 5)
INTRODUCTION:
• Why is it important that we hear the voice of God?
Jesus answers the question in John 5:24-25…
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” John 5:24-25
What is the answer? ‘those who hear will live…’
Life and death hinge on our hearing God’s voice. Those who hear – come to life, those who don’t, stay stuck in death.
The Greek word for “live” is the same word that Jesus used in John 10:10 where He said – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full…”
Fullness of life – life that is truly significant – comes as a result of hearing God’s voice and responding to Him in faith!
In recent weeks we’ve been talking about how to hear God’s voice. Thus far we discover that God speaks to those who are available, willing and humble. Last week we looked at what it takes to recognize the authentic voice of God over other voices.
Today, we are going to look deeper into what it takes to recognize His authentic voice.
We are a results-oriented people. We ask questions: “God speak to me so that I can fix this, overcome that, stop this, begin that…” etc. etc.
But God’s agenda is more than simply results:His greatest desire is RELATIONSHIP.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9
• Jesus and His Father have a love relationship that is amazing, so much so that Jesus subjects Himself to His Father’s will and the Father exalts Jesus for doing so!
• Jesus loves you with this same quality!
• And He calls you to simply ‘remain’ in this extraordinary love!
Why? Because God desires relationship with you! You were created to be connected!
Now, that said – so long as we are primarily interested in God simply for what He can do for us, we will never experience this level of friendship! Christ offers far more to us than simply fixing our problems – yes, He will intervene in our messes – but He offers something far greater – He offers FRIENDSHIP!
Maturing in Christ comes when we make our friendship with Him more important than what He can ‘do’ for us!
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came 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 the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
This is an illustration of two kinds of believers. One kind to be avoided and the other to be emulated.
Let’s look at Martha. What do we discover about Martha in this text?
Martha was committed.
• She offered her home to Jesus and His disciples on a moments notice.
• She was generous, preparing a ‘feast’ rather than a simple meal.
• She was seeking to serve God.
You might think – “We could sure use more ‘Martha’s’ around here!”
And you’d be wrong.
Jesus rejected Martha’s service. Her service did not please Him. And the problem wasn’t in what she was doing – the problem was deeper than that – the problem was IN Martha.
What was wrong with Martha? (v. 40) Verse 40 tells us: “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made…” She was DISTRACTED.
Here’s the scene: Jesus is sitting in her living room. Think about that. Still don’t get it? Okay – let’s put it this way:
• The long awaited Messiah is sitting in her living room.
• The King of kings is sitting in her living room.
• GOD is in the house!
Here’s the problem: Martha was so distracted by the details of her service that she was distracted from BEING WITH HIM!
She was doing a good thing – but missing out on the BEST THING!
• Like the mother who stays up half the night on Xmas Eve preparing a fabulous Christmas meal for her family – and who, on Christmas day is so tired from the preparations that she misses out on the joy of the day!
• Like the father who works so many hours – month after month, year after year – ‘providing for his family’ that he misses out on the day-to-day life of the family!
Distractions can make something that is truly wonderful become drudgery! (v. 40)
But there’s even more to the problem of distraction… Look at verse 41…. Jesus says to her…
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,”
I want you to get this… so write it down:
Distractions leads to worry which leads to being ‘upset about many things’. (v. 41)
Now – here’s the absurd part of what distraction does: GOD is sitting in the living room and Martha is a mess – worried to death about how the chicken casserole will come out!
• His Presence, which is meant to bring peace and pleasure, in the life of the distracted becomes pressure!
• Mary was bothered rather than blessed!
That’s what distraction does – it makes us oblivious to the Presence of God and leads us into a realm of completely unnecessary turmoil.
Think about how many times in your life when you’ve been filled with anxiety and worry over something – then you settle down and pray – God shows up – bringing with Him the gifts of peace – and you say: “What was I worried about! He was with me all the time!”
But distraction causes us to miss that!
And it gets worse… look at verse 40 again…
“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 the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
Distraction creates anger in us! (v. 40)
Martha is ticked at her sister! Can’t you imagine Martha in the kitchen, glancing in the living room – shooting darts at her sister who is seated at the feet of Jesus ‘doing nothing’! It’s not just the chicken that is boiling over! And finally, Martha can stand it no more! She comes out of the kitchen with a heart of anger!
And she’s not just ticked at Mary… She’s mad at Jesus! Can’t you just hear her: “don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself….” This anger is causing her to question the heart and motives of the very one she is claiming to serve!
And in this state of distracted anger, pride rears it’s ugly head in Martha and she COMMANDS JESUS – “Tell her to help me!”
Do not ever fall prey to the idea that we need more Martha’s – we don’t – what we need is more “Mary’s”!
Where is Mary in all of this? (v. 39)
Verse 39 tells us…
“Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
She isn’t in the kitchen cooking!
She is in the Living Room at the feet of Jesus listening!
• At the feet – in humility before her Lord!
• Listening to every word He spoke!
She is breaking the culture of her time – where she according to her culture, should have been with her sister in the kitchen. But you see:
Mary valued the BEST over the GOOD.
It was BEST for her to be with Jesus, therefore BEST took precedence over that which was GOOD!
And Martha didn’t get it. Had Mary been the one to answer Martha’s complaint she might have said: “Martha, how can you be in the kitchen, when the One we’ve longed for all of our lives is in the Living Room? We don’t know when He’ll come again, there’s not a moment to be lost!”
• Can’t you just see Mary staring into the eyes of Jesus – hanging on every word, watching every nuance of facial expression!?
• Can’t you imagine Mary saying something like: “Jesus, it means so much to be with you! I’m so grateful that You’d spend time with me in my home! There is nothing BETTER than being with you!”
• And what would Jesus’ response to Mary be? “Mary, this is exactly where I want to be! It means so much to me that you want to be with me! I am so happy that you chose what is BEST!”
You see – Martha misunderstood what was happening. She thought that she was being the hostess – but in fact – it was Jesus who was the host. And He brought with Him a true banquet – His Presence and His Words are the Bread of Life!
That’s why He said to Martha in verse 42…
“but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
What is the ‘one thing’ that is needed? (v. 42) His Presence!
We will eat again – but will He be Present in our Living Room again? Choose what it BEST – leave what is GOOD for later!
Mary chose what was best – she chose FRIENDSHIP with God over every other good thing!
In our lives – there are myriads of choices we must make – career, family, education, money, homes, cars, travel – but really ‘only one thing is needed…’
• We must choose friendship with God.
• Friendship with God is the result of a conscious choice. And to put off that choice is to make the choice.
• Friendship with God is the only choice you’ll ever make that cannot be taken away.
We can choose a mate – but death will separate us.
We can choose career – but economic downturns can end it.
We can choose to live healthy – but old age will take it away.
But Christ will never withhold his friendship from those who chose Him above all else.
So – WHAT DOES FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST HAVE TO DO WITH HEARING GOD’S VOICE?
• Mary sits in humility, listening to her Lord.
• Mary is the kind of friend that Jesus desires. She’d rather sit at His feet and listen to His voice than anything else! And she doesn’t seem to want anything from Him except His Presence. Just being with Him is enough.
Sometimes we want to hear from God because we need Him to do something for us. We are in a jam and we need His help. And that’s okay – God loves to meet our needs. It is in His nature to do good to those who love Him. But there’s more to friendship than simply what we can get out of it.
Mary wanted to hear His voice because it was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard! She wanted to see His face, because His was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen! Just being with Jesus was enough.
Friendship with God has always been the key to recognizing His voice.
• I don’t need formulas or steps to recognize my wife’s voice.
• I don’t need formulas or steps to recognize the voice of my children.
• I don’t need formulas or steps to recognize the voice of my closest friends.
Why would we think it would be different with Him?
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” John 14:21
God shows Himself to you. He will come into view.
• Why is it important that we hear the voice of God?
Jesus answers the question in John 5:24-25…
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” John 5:24-25
What is the answer? ‘those who hear will live…’
Life and death hinge on our hearing God’s voice. Those who hear – come to life, those who don’t, stay stuck in death.
The Greek word for “live” is the same word that Jesus used in John 10:10 where He said – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full…”
Fullness of life – life that is truly significant – comes as a result of hearing God’s voice and responding to Him in faith!
In recent weeks we’ve been talking about how to hear God’s voice. Thus far we discover that God speaks to those who are available, willing and humble. Last week we looked at what it takes to recognize the authentic voice of God over other voices.
Today, we are going to look deeper into what it takes to recognize His authentic voice.
We are a results-oriented people. We ask questions: “God speak to me so that I can fix this, overcome that, stop this, begin that…” etc. etc.
But God’s agenda is more than simply results:His greatest desire is RELATIONSHIP.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9
• Jesus and His Father have a love relationship that is amazing, so much so that Jesus subjects Himself to His Father’s will and the Father exalts Jesus for doing so!
• Jesus loves you with this same quality!
• And He calls you to simply ‘remain’ in this extraordinary love!
Why? Because God desires relationship with you! You were created to be connected!
Now, that said – so long as we are primarily interested in God simply for what He can do for us, we will never experience this level of friendship! Christ offers far more to us than simply fixing our problems – yes, He will intervene in our messes – but He offers something far greater – He offers FRIENDSHIP!
Maturing in Christ comes when we make our friendship with Him more important than what He can ‘do’ for us!
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came 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 the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
This is an illustration of two kinds of believers. One kind to be avoided and the other to be emulated.
Let’s look at Martha. What do we discover about Martha in this text?
Martha was committed.
• She offered her home to Jesus and His disciples on a moments notice.
• She was generous, preparing a ‘feast’ rather than a simple meal.
• She was seeking to serve God.
You might think – “We could sure use more ‘Martha’s’ around here!”
And you’d be wrong.
Jesus rejected Martha’s service. Her service did not please Him. And the problem wasn’t in what she was doing – the problem was deeper than that – the problem was IN Martha.
What was wrong with Martha? (v. 40) Verse 40 tells us: “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made…” She was DISTRACTED.
Here’s the scene: Jesus is sitting in her living room. Think about that. Still don’t get it? Okay – let’s put it this way:
• The long awaited Messiah is sitting in her living room.
• The King of kings is sitting in her living room.
• GOD is in the house!
Here’s the problem: Martha was so distracted by the details of her service that she was distracted from BEING WITH HIM!
She was doing a good thing – but missing out on the BEST THING!
• Like the mother who stays up half the night on Xmas Eve preparing a fabulous Christmas meal for her family – and who, on Christmas day is so tired from the preparations that she misses out on the joy of the day!
• Like the father who works so many hours – month after month, year after year – ‘providing for his family’ that he misses out on the day-to-day life of the family!
Distractions can make something that is truly wonderful become drudgery! (v. 40)
But there’s even more to the problem of distraction… Look at verse 41…. Jesus says to her…
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,”
I want you to get this… so write it down:
Distractions leads to worry which leads to being ‘upset about many things’. (v. 41)
Now – here’s the absurd part of what distraction does: GOD is sitting in the living room and Martha is a mess – worried to death about how the chicken casserole will come out!
• His Presence, which is meant to bring peace and pleasure, in the life of the distracted becomes pressure!
• Mary was bothered rather than blessed!
That’s what distraction does – it makes us oblivious to the Presence of God and leads us into a realm of completely unnecessary turmoil.
Think about how many times in your life when you’ve been filled with anxiety and worry over something – then you settle down and pray – God shows up – bringing with Him the gifts of peace – and you say: “What was I worried about! He was with me all the time!”
But distraction causes us to miss that!
And it gets worse… look at verse 40 again…
“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 the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
Distraction creates anger in us! (v. 40)
Martha is ticked at her sister! Can’t you imagine Martha in the kitchen, glancing in the living room – shooting darts at her sister who is seated at the feet of Jesus ‘doing nothing’! It’s not just the chicken that is boiling over! And finally, Martha can stand it no more! She comes out of the kitchen with a heart of anger!
And she’s not just ticked at Mary… She’s mad at Jesus! Can’t you just hear her: “don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself….” This anger is causing her to question the heart and motives of the very one she is claiming to serve!
And in this state of distracted anger, pride rears it’s ugly head in Martha and she COMMANDS JESUS – “Tell her to help me!”
Do not ever fall prey to the idea that we need more Martha’s – we don’t – what we need is more “Mary’s”!
Where is Mary in all of this? (v. 39)
Verse 39 tells us…
“Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
She isn’t in the kitchen cooking!
She is in the Living Room at the feet of Jesus listening!
• At the feet – in humility before her Lord!
• Listening to every word He spoke!
She is breaking the culture of her time – where she according to her culture, should have been with her sister in the kitchen. But you see:
Mary valued the BEST over the GOOD.
It was BEST for her to be with Jesus, therefore BEST took precedence over that which was GOOD!
And Martha didn’t get it. Had Mary been the one to answer Martha’s complaint she might have said: “Martha, how can you be in the kitchen, when the One we’ve longed for all of our lives is in the Living Room? We don’t know when He’ll come again, there’s not a moment to be lost!”
• Can’t you just see Mary staring into the eyes of Jesus – hanging on every word, watching every nuance of facial expression!?
• Can’t you imagine Mary saying something like: “Jesus, it means so much to be with you! I’m so grateful that You’d spend time with me in my home! There is nothing BETTER than being with you!”
• And what would Jesus’ response to Mary be? “Mary, this is exactly where I want to be! It means so much to me that you want to be with me! I am so happy that you chose what is BEST!”
You see – Martha misunderstood what was happening. She thought that she was being the hostess – but in fact – it was Jesus who was the host. And He brought with Him a true banquet – His Presence and His Words are the Bread of Life!
That’s why He said to Martha in verse 42…
“but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
What is the ‘one thing’ that is needed? (v. 42) His Presence!
We will eat again – but will He be Present in our Living Room again? Choose what it BEST – leave what is GOOD for later!
Mary chose what was best – she chose FRIENDSHIP with God over every other good thing!
In our lives – there are myriads of choices we must make – career, family, education, money, homes, cars, travel – but really ‘only one thing is needed…’
• We must choose friendship with God.
• Friendship with God is the result of a conscious choice. And to put off that choice is to make the choice.
• Friendship with God is the only choice you’ll ever make that cannot be taken away.
We can choose a mate – but death will separate us.
We can choose career – but economic downturns can end it.
We can choose to live healthy – but old age will take it away.
But Christ will never withhold his friendship from those who chose Him above all else.
So – WHAT DOES FRIENDSHIP WITH CHRIST HAVE TO DO WITH HEARING GOD’S VOICE?
• Mary sits in humility, listening to her Lord.
• Mary is the kind of friend that Jesus desires. She’d rather sit at His feet and listen to His voice than anything else! And she doesn’t seem to want anything from Him except His Presence. Just being with Him is enough.
Sometimes we want to hear from God because we need Him to do something for us. We are in a jam and we need His help. And that’s okay – God loves to meet our needs. It is in His nature to do good to those who love Him. But there’s more to friendship than simply what we can get out of it.
Mary wanted to hear His voice because it was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard! She wanted to see His face, because His was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen! Just being with Jesus was enough.
Friendship with God has always been the key to recognizing His voice.
• I don’t need formulas or steps to recognize my wife’s voice.
• I don’t need formulas or steps to recognize the voice of my children.
• I don’t need formulas or steps to recognize the voice of my closest friends.
Why would we think it would be different with Him?
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” John 14:21
God shows Himself to you. He will come into view.
posted by Doug Love at 8:25 AM
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