Please take your Bible and pen to Luke chapter 10, verses 38 through 42. Remember God's word is holy, infallible, inherent, and authoritative. Luke chapter 10, verse 38. 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. Amen. May the Lord bless the reading of His own word. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Please be seated. Let us pray. Our greatest Father, we thank you, Lord, for the Bible. Your Bible is full of truths. And truths cannot be found in any other books than the Bible of the Holy Scriptures. Lord, it is written in your Word So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Lord, we plead with you, even as your word goes out now, may it not return void. May your word sink deep into the hearts of the hearers. And may your word prosper the hearers. May the hearers benefit from the preaching of God's word, even this morning of God. And help all of us to be attentive to the preaching of God's word. May we be attentive to your voice. Remove all our sleepiness, our tiredness, our anxieties, our worries. Lord, help us to focus upon You and Your Word alone. And therefore we seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit even now. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Priorities. As Christians, we need to learn to set our priorities. We need to set our priorities right. Many Christians do not know how to set their priorities right. Sometimes Christians are unable to judge what is more important than the other. Sometimes Christians waste their time doing non-important things rather than the necessary or the needful things. Today we are going to talk about serving and worship. Scripture commands us to serve and worship Christ. Both are necessary, but one is more important than the other. What is that? We will find out which one is more important than the other in this text. Serving or worship of Christ. Serving or worship of Christ. In the previous text, we learned that a lawyer asked Jesus two questions. Remember, the first question was, what must I do in order to obtain eternal life? And Jesus replied, what does the Bible teach? And the lawyer replied, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. In short, these two greatest commandments mean love your God with all your being. Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor in the same way that you love yourself. You ought to love your neighbor the way you love yourself. That's what the scripture teaches us. And Jesus exhorted the lawyer to keep the two greatest commandments perfectly in order to obtain eternal life. The second question was, who is my neighbor? And Jesus told him a parable of a good Samaritan in order to explain the meaning of neighbor. In that parable Jesus exposed the sin of the Jewish people for their failure to love their neighbor who were not Jews. They did not show compassion to other non-Jewish people. Hence, loving a neighbour means showing mercy to others, showing compassion towards others, both Jews and Gentiles. Jesus exhorted the lawyer to be like the Samaritan and show mercy to others, which he failed to do. And we as Christians, Saved by grace, ought to show mercy to all people. In the Christian life, serving and worship are necessary. But what is more important? Serving or worship? So this we will find out in this text. So let us pick up from verse 38. Look at verse 38 in your Bible. Now it happened as they went, they entered, that he entered a certain village, he referring to Christ. Now it happened as they went, they means the disciples and Jesus, Now it happened as they went that he, Jesus, entered a certain village and a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. Luke tells us that Jesus entered Bethany, a little town which is about two miles away from Jerusalem. And it seems that the disciples did not follow Jesus into Bethany. Remember Bethany was the hometown to Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Martha, Mary and Lazarus were siblings. And they loved Jesus very much. And even Jesus loved them dearly. Martha welcomed Jesus into her house and offered hospitality to Jesus. And it seems that Lazarus was not at home when Jesus was visiting Martha and Mary. Only Martha and Mary were present in the house. So let us begin by looking at the first reading as we examine this text. The first reading is worship, verse 39. We already know that Martha and Mary were sisters. The two sisters were doing two different things. One was serving, and the other one, worshipping Christ. One was serving, and the other was worshipping Christ. No doubt, both are necessary. Serving and worshipping Christ are necessary. But first let us turn our focus upon Mary. Look at verse 39. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. So let us unpack the second part of verse 39. Put your finger on verse 39 in your Bible. Let us unpack the second part of verse 39 first. First thing to note in this verse is this. Mary's devotion to Christ. Mary's devotion to Christ. So what was Mary doing? Look at verse 39. What was Mary doing? Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. And Mary did not sit at the feet of Jesus by compulsion. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus willingly. Her posture reveals that Mary had a deep respect for Christ, the Teacher. She gave her complete attention to Jesus and His teaching. Mary gave complete attention to Jesus and His teaching. Mary was devoted to Christ. First, Mary's devotion to Christ in verse 39. Second thing that we can notice in verse 39 is Mary's true discipleship. Mary's true discipleship. And what was Mary doing as she was sitting at the feet of Jesus? Look at verse 39 in your Bible. Mary heard His Word. Mary heard the Word of Jesus. In fact, according to the Greek grammar, Mary was continuously listening to Jesus. As Jesus was speaking the word of God, Mary was continuously listening to Jesus. Mary was not concerned about anything. She was not worried about anything. Her main goal was to worship Christ by listening to His teaching. My sheep hears my voice. That's what Jesus said. Mary was hearing the voice of Christ. Mary being the sheep of Christ was hearing the voice of Christ. She was hearing his teaching. Mary chose the right thing by hearing the word of God. She understood that Christ's word is life. She understood that Christ's word is eternal and absolute truth. Mary understood that Christ's word is wisdom. She gave uninterrupted attention to Jesus. In fact, Mary was a diligent student of the word of God. And that is the mark of a true disciple of Christ. Mary seemed to be joyful as she sat at the feet of Jesus. We can clearly note Mary's devotion for Christ. She regarded listening to Christ's words as her highest priority at that time. We can note Mary's true discipleship of Christ. Children, let me ask you this. What about you? Are you like Mary? Are you good students of the Bible? Do you listen to the word of God attentively? is listening to God's Word your highest priority. Are you a true disciple of Christ? Are you a true disciple of Christ? Are you devoted to Christ? Are you devoted to Christ, like Mary? Hence, by sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His teachings, Mary was worshipping Christ. Sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His word means worshipping Christ. You also can worship Christ by listening to God's word now, attentively. As you listen to the preaching of God's word now, you are actually sitting at the feet of Jesus. Now what about martyrs? What was Martha doing? So we come to the second meaning. Serving. Serving, verses 40 and 41. Serving, verses 40 and 41. Martha was not with Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to his word. On the contrary, Martha was active doing something else. She was very involved in serving Jesus. Most probably she was in the kitchen, preparing food for Jesus. But then she was more concerned about hospitality, providing hospitality to Jesus. She was more concerned about serving Christ, who came to visit Martha and Mary. Listen to what Luke tells us in verse 14. Look at verse 14. Put your finger on verse 14 and Bible. 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. There are four things that we can note here. Number one, distraction. Instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to God's Word, Martha was distracted. That's what we are told in verse 40. She was distracted because she was not concerned about serving Jesus. Serving Jesus Nothing wrong about that. Serving Christ is necessary and important. And we all must serve Christ in every possible way. We need to serve Christ in various ministries in the Church. But Martha's priority was not right. Did you hear that? Martha's priority was not right. She regarded serving more important than worship of Christ. And so Martha was distracted from doing a more important thing, which was sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His teaching. Second thing the Lord in verse 14 states, complaining spirit, complaining spirit. Martha complained that she was left alone to serve Jesus. She had no help. She was doing things all by herself to serve Jesus. This is a sign of self-pity. This is a sign of self-pity. Sometimes you are at home and your parents ask you to do something and when you are doing something, you are looking at your other siblings, hey, why are they not helping me? And you get very bitter about your siblings, right? That is called self-pity. Never allow yourself to slide into self-pity. Because self-pity can lead to lack of joy. When there is self-pity, then you will not enjoy what you are doing at all, helping your parents. Self-pity can lead to lack of joy and grumbling, complaining spirit. In 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 9 we read in this way. This is Peter writing, Be hospitable to one another. Now listen to these subsequent words. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling, without complaining. When we desire to provide hospitality or serve others, we must do it with joy. Otherwise you will experience self-pity and then grumbling, complaining, bitterness. All these things will follow. The third thing to observe in verse 40 is this. Accusation. False accusation or wrong accusation. Martha accused Jesus that he did not care about her. Can you imagine? Martha accused Jesus that he did not care about her. Look at verse 40. Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Is Jesus someone who does not care for people? Of course not. If Jesus did not care for people, he would not have left heaven to come down to earth to be born as a human to save people from their sins. If Jesus did not care for people, he would not have healed the blind, the dead, the lame and the sick. If Jesus did not care for people, He would not have calmed the storm and saved His disciples and all others who are in the boat. Jesus understands our weaknesses and He cares for us. So Martha made a wrong accusation of Jesus. But you know what? Sometimes we are like Martha. But we, we are like Martha. We whine about many things to God. God, why am I in this situation? Why didn't you help me? Why am I disappointed? Why am I sad? Why did my loved ones die? Where are you God? Don't we whine like that? The fourth thing that we can notice in verse 14 is this. Martha told Jesus what to do. And we are like Martha. We tell Jesus what to do. Because we treat Jesus as our slave. Right? But remember Jesus is the creator of all things. Jesus is God. Jesus is the Lord of Glory. Yet Martha told Jesus what to do. Look at verse 14. Therefore tell her, tell Mary to help me. Why? Because she thought her serving was more important than Martha's worship for Christ. Sometimes we are like Martha, we think what we are doing is more important and we expect others to do the same thing that we are doing. Remember this fact whenever such things happen to you. Why was Martha distracted, complaining and accusing Jesus? Why? Why was Martha distracted, complaining and accusing Jesus? The answer is this. Because of worry. Jesus gently and lovingly rebuked Martha for worrying too much. Look at verse 41. And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. Did you share that? And Jesus told her very gently, look at verse 41. Jesus answered and said to Martha, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. See, he was not angry with her. He lovingly rebuked her. And sometimes Jesus lovingly rebukes us when we do wrong things, when we sin against God. Jesus knows the hearts of man and He knew the heart of Martha and He knows your heart too. So Jesus knew the sin of Martha. Jesus knew that Martha was worry and trouble. He was not just worried about one thing. Jesus said that he was worried about many things. Let us pause here for a while. Let us be clear of this. Worry is a sin. Worry is a sin. The scripture, especially Matthew chapter 6, teaches us not to worry, but to trust Him in all things. When you worry about something, go to Matthew chapter 6 and meditate on that chapter. There Christ teaches us not to worry about anything, but to trust in Him in all things. So worry is a great distraction to worship. If we are worried, then our focus will not be in Christ. If we are worried, then our focus will not be in Christ. Even now, if you are worried about something, then your focus will not be in Christ and His Word. Do you not experience distraction? in worship every week? Do you think of your kitchen? Are you worried about food in the oven? And some of you think about your work in the office. Did I send out this email? And you tend to think constantly of some unfinished job, at workplace, or at home, or at school. Martha was distracted and worried. Martha was worried about serving and was distracted from worship. What was the counsel of Jesus to Martha? So we come to the third statement. Worship better than serving, verse 42. Worship better than serving. Martha was worried with many things concerning serving but she needed to do only one thing. And what was that one thing that was expected from Martha? Look at verse 42. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her. So Jesus was not saying serving was not important. He didn't say that. No. Serving is important. But Jesus emphasized to Martha that Mary has chosen that good part. What is that good part? That good part is worship of Christ. Hence Jesus emphasized that worship of Christ is better than serving. Listen to Christ's assurance for Mary. Look at verse 42. But one thing is needed. And Mary had chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. Mary had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus, to hear His Word. Mary chose to worship Him, rather than serving. And that good heart would not be taken away from her. In other words, Jesus would not tell Mary to go and help Martha in the kitchen. So from these facts, we learn three things. Number one, worship. Okay, number two, serving. Number three, worship better than serving. But I want to say this before we leave the text. Serving and worship, both are essential in our Christian life. Both are important, both are necessary. Nevertheless, from this text it is clear that worship is more important than serving. We need to set our priorities right in our lives. Serving is important. But how can you serve God effectively if you do not know His will? Do you know the will of God? How can you do the will of God if you do not know His will? And you know what David said? Listen to this. Psalm 40 verse 8. David said, I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart. Can we say like King David? I delight to do your will, O my God, because your law, your word, the Bible is in my heart. Can we say like that? But you see, if you want to do the will of God, if you want to obey God, if you want to do what pleases God, you need to know His Word. So they'll be delighted in knowing God's will because God's Word was in his heart. Now, do you see the importance of God's Word? Many Christians don't see the importance of God's Word. If they If they know that God's Word is important, what will they do? They will take out the Bible every day and read and meditate on Him. And do you see the relationship of God's Word and doing His will in your life? Now let me tell you what the Apostle Paul said concerning doing good works. Serving is doing good works. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 16 and 17, and listen very carefully, these are the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. Did you hear that? Paul elaborates the usefulness of God's Word in this verse. And he emphasizes that God's Word prepares a Christian to be completely equipped to do good works. We need to hide God's Word in our hearts in order to serve effectively, to do good works effectively. So Mary chose the one equal thing, which is hearing the word of God. And I want to ask you children, have you chosen this good part as Mary had chosen? Martha was distracted by her serving, from hearing God's word, at the feet of Jesus, with Mary. And she was worried about many things. But Martha, we are distracted with many things. in life, and we are worried with many things of the world. Do not allow anything to distract you. Do not let worry distract you from listening to the Word of God. Now, which one is more important? Watching TV? Playing video games on your iPad? Sleeping at home? Or listening to God's Word at worship service or Bible study. Which one is important? Doing laundry and doing groceries on Sunday. Are they more important than attending worship service and listening to God's Word? Are they more important than attending praying meetings? Which one is important? So, we need to think about all these things, you know? We are wasting time in unimportant things than spending time like Mary, listening to God's Word and worshipping Him. You know, Martha and Mary were believers. Later Martha would confess astonishing truths about future resurrection to Jesus when her brother died. That we heard the reading from John chapter 11. How did Martha know? Over the time, Martha might have set the priorities right and learned God's truths. What about Mary? Later Mary would pour expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus and wipe the feet of Jesus with her hand in view of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and his burial. And then we heard the reading from John Chaplain's song. So you see how God changed these two sisters over the time. And likewise He can change you too. You just need to spend time in God's Word. Listen to God's Word. Let God's Word change your heart. Let God's Word soften your hardened hearts. If you have chosen to attend worship service regularly and hear God's Word diligently, then God will not take that away from you. If you have chosen to attend Bible study and prayer meeting, then God will not take that away from you. If you have chosen to study the Bible and pray to God during your own personal devotional time, then God will not take that away from you. So every Sunday, do not neglect hearing the preaching of God's Word. Do not miss Bible study and prayer meeting. Because worship of Christ is better than serving. Worship of Christ is better than any other thing. Nothing is more important than hearing God's Word. Set your priorities right. Amen. Let's pray. Our gracious Father, we thank you, Lord, for your word, especially this passage, Lord. Father, often we are like Martha, who calls us to be like Mary, to sit at your feet and listen to your word. Soften our heart and mind, Lord, and help us to set our priorities right. Teach us to love Your way and love You. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.