ONE THING IS NEEDED

by Pastor Paul Naumann

"Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And 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 to 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.'"

—Luke 10:38-42

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who said, "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," Dear Fellow-Redeemed,

"Ten Steps to Better Golf," was the title of a book I was reading last summer. My golf game was so bad, I'd try anything to improve it, so I figured I'd read this book. Well, the first nine steps were the kinds of things you'd expect to hear from an instructional book on golf: get a good grip on the club, keep your head down, keep your left arm straight, etc. So I was trying to remember all these things, and then I came to Step Ten. It surprised me. Step Ten said simply, "HIT THE BALL." The author felt that many golfers get far too wrapped up in the details of correct posture and swing. They forget that the one basic thing you need to do in golf is to hit the ball! Needless to say, you can do everything else right; but if you don't hit the ball square and straight, you're going to end up a very poor golfer.

A lot of Christians have a similar problem. They get all wrapped up in the details and distractions of their daily lives. So much so, that they lose sight of the single most important thing - hearing God's Word. The account of Mary and Martha is a great example. If the worries and cares of this life have been robbing you of your peace of mind lately, then Jesus has a cure for you today. He reminds us, in the words of our theme, that...

"ONE THING IS NEEDED"

I. Neglect the Word...and everything else is useless. II. Hear the Word...and everything else follows!

The little village of Bethany lay a couple of miles outside Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus entered the town, and immediately He was invited into one of the homes there for dinner. The home belonged to two sisters and a brother; their names were Mary, Martha and Lazarus. It's important for us to note that this family already knew Jesus. In fact, the Bible indicates that they were already believers.

Knowing that helps us understand what this story is about...and what it's not about. It's not about "making a decision for Christ" (stick with me here, because this is important). I mention it because there are false teachers among the Reformed churches today who insist that an unbeliever has the power to "decide for Christ." Essentially, they're saying that each person has the power to turn himself from an unbeliever into a believer. This "Decision Theology" insists that the unbeliever must take the first step toward God, must "decide to turn his life over to Jesus," before he can be saved. But you know what? -That's impossible! We learned just how impossible it is in our Bible study of Ephesians chapter two last Wednesday evening. There Paul reminds us, "Even when we were DEAD in trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." -- Eph 2:5. Only the Holy Ghost can make a believer out of an unbeliever. An unbeliever can no more "decide for Christ" than a dead man can "decide" to bring himself back to life again!

Decision Theology would say that Mary made the right choice and believed in Jesus, while Martha made the wrong choice and rejected Jesus. But the Bible makes it very clear: both women were already believers.

Martha, too, welcomed Jesus gladly into her house. She referred to Him as "Lord." She no doubt believed that He was the promised Savior. Martha's only had one problem: she temporarily lost sight of the ONE THING NEEDED. She failed to realize this fact: neglect the Word...and everything else is useless!

The two women reacted differently to Jesus' arrival. Mary "...sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving." Martha was preoccupied. Maybe she wasn't expecting Jesus. She certainly wanted to prepare the best meal possible for their honored Guest, and there was a lot to do. So she hustled about, feverishly trying to get things ready. The text says she was "distracted;" the Greek word means she literally was "pulled" or "dragged away" from Jesus because of her work. Was there enough to eat? Would the food be done on time? What if Jesus didn't like it? And where was that lazy sister of hers? At the end of her rope, Martha came up to Jesus and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."

It wasn't that she was doing something bad. What she was doing was good - even necessary. It was her timing that was bad. There's a time to work, and a time to stop working and listen to the Lord. Jesus once said, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you." -- John 6:27. The thing she misunderstood was that all her preparations were nothing compared with the opportunity Jesus was presenting her to hear His lifegiving Word. "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But ONE THING IS NEEDED.'" Neglect the Word, Jesus was telling her, and all your other activity is useless, empty...even dangerous.

I'll ask you a question. If you could have been in the house that day, what would you have done? Would you have sat down with Mary...or would you have felt it your duty to pitch in and help Martha with the meal? For myself I'm not so sure - maybe you're not either! Life in the 90's seems to hold so many things to trouble and distract us. If you have a ranch you're worried about calving, and whether your hay will last out the winter. Office workers are concerned with raises, pensions, and office politics. Parents have plenty to be distracted about, what with their children's health, their homework, their activities. What about clubs and organizations? In this community, especially, there are so many of them that some of us seem to have all our evenings filled up with meetings.

Have you allowed yourself to be distracted from the ONE THING NEEDED? Have you been absent from worship services or Bible Classes? Have you failed to set aside time each day to meditate on the Words of your Savior? Can you afford to allow these precious opportunities to slip past you? Remember: there's a time to work, and a time to stop work and listen to the Word of your Lord. Take heed to your Savior's warning question, "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" -- Mat 16:26.

Today - and every day - you are invited to leave your anxieties and your troubles behind. You're invited to sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him. Perhaps you'll object, "But Pastor, there are other important things in my life besides church and Bible class and reading the Scriptures. I can't just drop everything and hear the Word." God's answer to you is: YES, YOU CAN. And the reason is clear - because when you hear the Word, everything else follows! Jesus said, "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."

What does our text say about Mary? -Not really very much, when you think about it! It says simply, "Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard His Word." That's the only thing she did...but what an important thing! Like a flower turning its petals toward the sun, Mary looked into the face of her Savior and let His soothing words comfort her soul. Mary recognized that the ONE THING SHE NEEDED above everything else was to hear God's Word. Everything else is less important. In fact, when you take care to choose this good thing, you'll see that God will supply you with everything else you need! Jesus says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." -- Mt 6:33.

What do you get when you regularly hear God's Word? Well, what did Mary get? Let's look.

First of all, when you pay attention to the ONE THING NEEDED, you get peace of conscience. I'm sure Mary did! Mary, after all, wasn't that much different than you and me. She no doubt had problems that needed her attention, just like Martha did, just like we do. But deep down, her greatest need was the need for forgiveness, the need to be right with God. And she came to the right place to fulfill that need! Because what do you suppose Jesus was talking about as Mary sat there at His feet? I think He had to be talking about His work of redemption. I'm sure He was telling Mary that she need not afraid - "Though you are a sinner," He may have said, "you will not be punished for your sins. I Myself will be the sacrifice that will take away your sin, and the sin of the whole world!"

Once again, as we approach the season of Lent, those kind words are for you, as well. Jesus kept the whole Law in your place, in order to give you the perfect righteousness you need to be truly right with God. With the precious blood He shed on the cross, Jesus erased from God's book every sin you've ever committed. -Yes, even for those times when we forgot the ONE THING NEEDED; even for those times when we allowed the worries and troubles of this world to distract us from God's Word.

Does your conscience bother you? Do your sins weigh heavily on your soul? Come and sit at Jesus' feet! Trust in Him. Listen to His reassuring Word: "Fear not, for I have put away your sin. You shall not die, but shall live with Me in eternal happiness in heaven. All this I give you as a free gift. Take it, and rejoice in it! I have called you by your name; you are Mine!"

Jesus has solved the great problem of sin. He did it for Mary, and He's done it for us. He solved it once and for all with His death on the cross. Now I ask you: with that problem behind you, all your other problems sort of seem to lose their bite, don't they? What can really cause us trouble and anxiety anymore, when our Lord Jesus has promised us a place in heaven? Oh, I suppose you could still find things to worry and fret about if you tried, but what's the point? Paul reminds us, "He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" -- Heb 13:5-6.

Hear the Word...and everything else follows. Because finally, the solution to ALL your problems really does lie in the ONE THING NEEDED. Maybe you've been struck with an illness lately. Perhaps you've been having family problems, troubles with your spouse or your children. Maybe you've got financial problems, and you're wondering where you'll find the money to cover your bills...REMEMBER: ONE THING IS NEEDED. First of all, make sure you and your family are found at Jesus' feet on Sunday morning - listening to God's Word here in God's house. Take advantage of every opportunity to hear His word in Bible Class and Ladies' Aid. Make sure your children are in Sunday school, sitting at their Savior's feet and hearing His Word. If you choose the ONE THING NEEDED, I guarantee that all your other problems will be taken care of by the Lord. Or rather, God's the one who guarantees it in His Word. As Paul says in Romans, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us ALL things?" -- Rom 8:32.

To my mind, one of the most comforting things about this text lies in the last sentence. Jesus said, "Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." You can lose all your money. You can lose your house, your car, your family, your friends. Even your health can be taken from you. But God's Word is a treasure that can never be taken away from you. Every time you read that Word with your family, every time you come to church to hear it preached, that precious Word will be a fountain of salvation to you, springing up to everlasting life. That's why Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -- Mat 6:19-21. AMEN.