"Only One Thing Is Needed"

Luke 10:38-42

Rev. Min J. Chung

(Sunday Worship, September 5, 1999)

"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 prepara tions 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. NIV

  1. Introduction
  2. This is a story of two sisters. It could be a story of two brothers. Ive been readingThe Birth Order Bookby Kevin Leman. Its very interesting. Most likely Martha was the older sister and Mary the younger. When two siblings are the same gen der its an interesting combination. Ive been reading about how it affects the tendencies of people. Talking about the first born he writes, "of the first twenty-three astronauts sent into outer space, twenty-one were first borns or only children. In fact, all seven astronauts in the original Mercury program were first borns in their families." How many are firstborn here today. [many]. "Research psychologists have come up with substantial evidence that shows first borns are more high ly motivated to achieve than their younger brothers and sisters. A much greater percentage of first borns wind up in high achievement professions such as science, medicine, or law. Youll also find a greater number of first borns among accountants, boo kkeepers, executive secretaries, engineers, and, in recent years, people whose jobs involved computers. First borns typically go for anything that takes precision, strong powers of concentration, and dogged mental discipline." He says in his book that a lot of pastors are first borns. I laughed when I read that because Im the second-born son. "No way!" But when I thought about our pastors, out of seven, Im the only second-born male. The other six guys are firstborn males! There are seven pastors and the six firstborn males are led by a second-born son. It was fascinating thinking about this. Reading a little more from the book, "typical characteristics of first borns include perfectionistic, reliable, list makers, conscientio us, well organized, critical, serious, scholarly. To that list you could add: goal oriented, achiever, self-sacrificing, people pleaser, conservative, supporter of law and order, believer in authority and ritual, legalistic, loyal, self-reliant." I was thinking that it fits a lot of people Ive met. It fits Martha. Thats why firstborn children are often superstars at home. Theyre always doing the right things. So in order to receive affirmation and praise, second-born children need to do somethin g else well. Second-born children usually become artists, musicians or athletes. If the firstborn is good at something, the second-born is good at something else. The third-born of the same gender is the baby of the family. Theyre fun to be with but oft en irresponsible.
  3. Lets go to the Bible. When we think about Martha and Mary, we can think about personality and birth order but remember that though they are helpful, they are superficial. I studied psychology and they are somewhat helpful but not deep enough to expl ain why people are a certain way. When we look into this text, we can get deeper into people. Lets talk about Martha and Mary. Before we get into the text, please dont do any Martha-bashing. "Martha had no heart. Martha was just doing things. Mar tha was just serving without any heart." Remember thatMartha opened her home. She wanted to serve. There are a lot of good things about Martha. In fact, Jesus doesnt say, "Martha, youve chosen what is bad." He says something lik e, "You were doing something good, but Mary has chosen what isbetter." Serving is not necessarily bad, but there is something more. Lets get deep into whats happening. As we look at Martha, she is serving Jesus externally. She invited Jesus to their home about six months before Jesus would die on the cross€the time for His death is nearing. Jesus is thirty-three years old. So when we think about that, it makes a lot of sense whats doing on. As we look at Martha we realize that she i s not really serving Jesus but she has slowly turned this service for Jesus into self-service. She is basically serving herself. We will get into that later. As we look at Martha, we will see some signs of self-service. What are the signs of self-servic e?
  4. Body
  5. Signs of Self-service
  6. One Becomes Goal-Oriented
  7. Serving is not necessarily bad, but it is when it becomes the most important thing. It was Martha who opened the door to Jesus€that was good, but because she opened her home and invited Jesus and others, what happened?Her name was on the line. If you start something your name is on the line. Let me ask you a question? Do you do your best when youre involved, when your name is on the line? Do you care a little bit more? Is there a little more juice when your reputation is involved? Then check your motive. Why are you doing it? The perceived goal for Martha was dinner had to be served to Jesus. "Jesus has to eat my dinner." When you think of her behavior, theres something wrong. How is she behaving and reacting? Her behav ior was that she was worried and upset. Her words were a little sharp: "Jesus, dont you care?" You can almost hear the tone shes using. She gives it with a look that can kill. There was something wrong with her behavior. Her superficial goa l was to serve Jesus but there was more.Her real goal was her desire. She was serving to fulfill her desire. She wanted something for "me because my name is on the line."Often, you can become task-oriented and accomplishing that task i s your main desire. So what was her real goal? It has something to do with herself. Can we specify what it is? No. She could be thinking, "The dinner is not done and it has to be an excellent dinner." Perhaps she was a perfectionist and she had to make a perfect dinner. Or perhaps she was thinking, "I just have to get it done." So she wanted it done, but not necessarily done well. Depending on her personality or motive it might be: "The dinner has to be good so that Jesus en joys it so that He likes me." We dont know the exact motive, but it had to do with self. When her name was on the line, her behavior was wrong. Whatever the behavior, theres a heart issue, a desire, some motive behind it. It wasnt just about pre paring a meal and Jesus eating it; it was more. It had to be done a little better, because her name was on the line. Was her goal harmony? "If He enjoys this dinner, Hell like me or accept me." Do you have the mentality that if you get it don e, you feel worth it? And when you dont get it done, you feel worthless? It can be many things€comfort, being loved, being appreciated. Everybody has a different motive. It has something to do with me. Its the same thing with her.
  8. But lets not bash her too much. One of the most important things I learned in Systematic Theology when I took it in seminary is that everybody hasdouble motives. We want to serve God, but theres another selfish-motive that will linger until Jesus comes. We have an evil desire for ourselves that wont be totally gone until we see Him face to face. Thats what the Bible says when it says well never be like Him until then. All through the New Testament, the problem is our evil desires. So we think, "Ah ha! I have this evil desire. Thats why I love the sin. My problem is this evil desire"€loving sex, for example. You think its the main problem, but more than that its because you have that evil desire in you even when you are doin g good things. Its not necessarily when we have bad behavior, but we have false motives even when were doing good things. Thats just as bad according to the Bible. Thats why Jesus is most critical toward the Pharisees who were doing good things on th e outside€they fasted twice a week and studied Scripture, but their motive was for themselves. As you do good things, check your heart. What is your motive? Whatever you do there is a common goal, a certain desire within that drives every thing you do. Y ou need to struggle with this all your life. Whether or not we understand what it is, we have it. But it has to do with me, approval, loving, respect, self-worth, harmony, something for myself. We know how to love ourselves. Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as youLOVEyourself." Do you hear it? There are different things related to self. That secret sin within is not simply your jealous tendencies or love of pornography but deep within t here is some selfish motive, an evil desire to exalt yourself. Because of desire for self there is selfish behavior and you become self-oriented. A sign of self-service is that you become goal-oriented, to fulfill your evil desire for yourself.
  9. One Finds Presence of Negative Emotion
  10. Shes worried, distracted, and upset. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things." When you have a bad desire, even when doing good things, there are bad emotions. You know its bad but its there.Emot ions indicate what we love.Why in the world does everyone get so emotional when a guy catches a football? It indicates what we love. Why is it that when you look at a baby or hear a romantic story, your heart is moved? Emotions indicate what we lov e. Why are there fights and quarrels among you? (James 4:1-2). Because you want something, desire something and dont get it. Thats why. Just come to my house; theres a war everyday between my kids. They want the same thing, the same Lego, the same c ard. They dont want it when someone doesnt have it, but when someone touches it, theres a war. Martha wanted something. It might be: "Respect me. Appreciate me." But she wasnt getting it, so she got upset. Shes not getting the result. S o the inevitable result in her emotions is anger. Shes worried. Shes blaming.AngerisI cant get it. I want it but Im not getting it.WorryisI might not get it.DisappointmentisI didnt get it.Bl ameisbecause of you I didnt get it. When do you have those feelings? Examine yourself. When are you worried? When do you get angry? When do you blame? When do you get disappointed? Trace back and ask yourself why. That will tell you much a bout your motives. When I lose in basketball, Im usually angry but I dont show it. I smile, because Im a pastor. I say, "Good game," but I feel uneasy. Sometimes I lose but I feel good. That happens when I make ten out of the eleven points our team scored. Im on a terrible team, but everythings going in for me. I feel like Im throwing the ball into Lake Michigan. Im in the zone. We lose and I look upset but Im really happy inside. Its because I get what I want. Sometimes you win but you dont feel good. Someone else got all the points, and you missed ten shots. You win but you still feel bad.You really wanted to get that appreciation and respect from others.Think about small group. It might have been a blessing small group, but you come back and feel uneasy, why? It might be that no one noticed you, or someone said something about you. You feel angry, upset. When do you like small group? When you get what you want. Perhaps its appreciation. Everybody appreciates y ou and you like it. Why? When someone likes certain kinds of people a lot, I can tell whatever their hearts desire is. Some people say, "I love my home church. I dont feel comfortable when I come to CFC." I ask them why? We talk. Basicall y, the reason is something like, "The younger guys love me at home church. At CFC no one loves me." Repent! The times I get mad at my children are when they get in my way. A busy minister told the story about his daughter running up to him an d saying excitedly, "Daddy, daddy! Listen, I have something to tell you! Ill say it really quickly!!!" He responded, "Just say it quietly. Talk slowly." Then she said, "Then listen slowly." Sometimes when my kids get in the way I get angry. I dont get what I want, so I get angry. When negative emotions come out, maybe youre serving yourself.
  11. Rewards Are Demanded
  12. What is a reward to you? When you desire something and get it. "Notice me. Love me." "Lord, dont you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" What is she saying? "Love me. Noti ce me. Appreciate me. Respect me." Whatever she desires. Sometimes we do this through oursilent absence. Sometimes we do it through ourconspicuous presence. Martha is present. Everybody knows shes there. She stops the teaching o f Jesus. "Jesus!" She was doing it through her conspicuous presence. Some of you are silent absence people. Youre bitter and angry and though you dont say anything, everyone knows something is wrong.
  13. Rewards are to be earned, not demanded.Martha is demanding her reward. Look at what shes really saying. "Lord, tell her." Think about that. Shes telling Jesus to tell Mary to help her. She lost a piece of her mind that she coul dnt afford to lose. "I want her to serve me. Give me." When you demand respect or a reward, youre serving yourself. When people come to me for marriage counseling, whenever theres a problem, no matter what theyre saying, each side is alwa ys demanding a reward. Eph. 5 says that is the problem. Paul says to the wives, "Respect your husband," and to the husbands, "Love your wife." So all the wives complain to me, "Pastor Min, tell my husband to love me." And a ll the husbands say to me, "Tell my wife to respect me." When you see your mom and dad arguing, translate their language to that. Theyre like my kids fighting for the same toy. I have gone to churches with a lot of problems in the past, and when I think about the problem, its that two leaders are doing the same thing€demanding respect and rewards.
  14. Community Is Broken
  15. What is community? Community is Jesus and people. Vertical and horizontal community is broken when you serve yourself. How do you break community with Jesus? How do you break community with people? Community withJesusis broken when y oureproud. Community withpeopleis broken when youreselfish. Is Martha doing that? Yes. "Tell her to help me."Now, whos the Lord here?Whos commanding who? If she was really serving Jesus, she wo uldnt command Him.True service builds community not breaks it.Think about her relationship with Mary. "Me, me, me." Selfishness. Her bond and community with Mary was broken. True service builds community. Shes no longer serving J esus.She wants Jesus and Mary to serve her. She wants everybody to serve her, to move into her land and fulfill her desires. Shes serving herself. Its self-service.
  16. Road to Sacrificial Service
    How can I get myself to serve sacrificially? I dont want to serve myself. Well talk about the whole repentance process.
  17. Communion
  18. Jesus says, "Only one thing is needed. What Mary is doing is better." What is that one thing? I used to think that Jesus was saying, "Mary, I just need fried rice. Not Mongolian beef, not Princess Chicken, only one thing." Bu t of course I dont think Jesus meant that. It has something to do withvertical relationship. "Love Me and get fed by My word." However you want to put it. That is the most important thing. "Sit and listen to what Im saying,&quo t; like what Mary is doing. As the Word of God comes, shes coming alive and loving Jesus. "Sit down and laugh with me. Sit down. Cry on My shoulder." You gotta let Him do surgery within. Its about communion within.
  19. What is the motive in our hearts? Whats the selfish motive? Thats why you have this behavior€being angry or worried. Ask others if youre like that. Talk to others, discuss it with them. Go to the mirror of Gods Word and examine your heart, then w restle in prayer. All those things are communion with Him. As the Word of God goes in like a double-edged sword, does surgery and your desires change (thats what the spiritual battle is),heart change leads to behavior transformation. If youre j ust thinking, "Why am I like this?" its not enough. You gotta think about your heart, desires, and motives. To change what appears on the monitor, change the program. Gods order is not to abolish the mundane and routine but to transform them into worship.
  20. What is the main point of this text?Priority. God is saying, "You and me first." Before anything else, "You and me first."You gottasitbefore youserve. Then you willsingafter youse rve.If you dont sit before you serve, youll gripe. Youll complain after you serve or even while youre serving. "Love Me first and get it from Me," then you can give to people.
  21. Its like this. Think about Martha. In her mind, she has togiveso many things to Jesus. The mentality of Mary is different. She has togetsomething from Jesus. She sits down, listens, and then when she gets it, inner transformation takes place. Martha thinks she has to give and do these things but Jesus is saying, "If you dont get it from me, youll have nothing to give." Our giving is a meredeliveryof Gods grace. We gotta get it from Him. We are doingtransp ortationwork of Gods grace when we serve. Communion.
  22. Empowerment
  23. Do you want to serve God and people? You need empowerment. Motive change leads to spiritual results. If your heart changes in your commitment to Him there are spiritual results. God ordains power in the right kind of love. If you have self-lov e there is no power. If you have love for God, there is power in what you do for others. Power comes in two forms. One isobjective spiritual results. When you serve theres an objective result. God is glorified and others see that and are bless ed. There are alsosubjective spiritual results. What is that? Heart change. You have desire. You want to do it, to live for Him and serve Him. When you are doing bad spiritually, you dont want to come to church, to love Him, to sit here. If you re strengthened in your heart, youll love to sit here and worship. That heart change is empowerment. Do you love to sit at Jesus feet and worship Him? Thats the whole thing about communism; thats why it failed over its 70 years. In capitalism, peopl e are motivated to work because they get results from it. In communism they dont get what they work for. The problem with communism is that it tried to change the society without changing heart. But the only thing that can change society is when our hear ts change. We can serve only when we have communion, vertical power that comes within. And then we can transform this world.
  24. Fight
  25. When we serve its a continuous fight of "Love me, serve me" versus "I love you, Lord". We need to fight withconstant short prayers. "Lord, help me not to be selfish. Help me to serve You, to love You." We ne ed constant examination. However, be careful of unhealthy self-introspection. Constantly check whether you are worried and distracted. If so, thats a sign that false motives are coming alive. Are you peaceful and thankful? Do you have negative emotions? Constant repentance and short prayers.
  26. Evaluate
  27. Evaluate because theres post-service depression. After you do something, do you feel empty and lonely? That ispost-service depression syndrome. All these negative emotions are there because you have selfish motives that are not met. You ll have joy if you serve the Lord. Youll be so thankful. Or do you have hunger for affirmation and approval of people?When you have post-service depression syndrome you need to sit there and worship God. "I worship you. I have this emptin ess because I didnt get it from You. Help me to worship You. Help me to love You." This is the road to sacrificial service.
  28. Picture/Illustration of Servanthood