Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

The Setter of our Priorities | Series: Who is Jesus?| 08-24-08

The Setter of Our Priorities
Luke 10:38-42

  I. Welcome Jesus into your home.

 II. Seize the moment.

III. Treasure relationships above activity.

IV. Cling to your values.

Full Text 

In the video is a professional who had it all,
but when he got there,
he found he needed something more in life.
And he was willing to give up some nice things to get it.

But along comes the farmer.
Without thinking about it
he is swept up in the desire for more.

Both men had a change in their priorities.

When it comes to setting priorities,
it is so easy to get sucked into the physical.

If you do not periodically, consciously,
take the time to
think over where you are and
where you are headed,
you will naturally begin to gravitate toward
things and numbers.

At this point in our journey with Jesus
through the Gospel of Luke,
we come to 2 women
who are just like the professional and the farmer.

They have 2 radically different sets of priorities.

Let's go to the map.

First, find Galilee.
Galilee is just above the center of the map.

We've seen Jesus spend a lot of time
up north around Galilee and above.

Now, look to the bottom of the map on the left.
You will see Jerusalem.

Jesus is making His last trip to Jerusalem.
This time He will be crucified.

Luke doesn't record it, but
this is actually Jesus' 3rd time to preach
in the Jerusalem and Judean area.

Next, look to the right of Jerusalem and
you will see Bethany.

Bethany is less than 2 miles from Jerusalem and
sits on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.
where Jesus liked to go to pray.

This is where Jesus' close friends,
Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus lived.

John tells is in John 11:5
"Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

Because Jesus was so close to them
He often stayed there.

This was a wealthy family that
could easily put up Jesus and His disciples.


Turn in your Bibles to Luke 10:38-42.
"38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But 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!'  [Doesn't she sound like a tattle-tale?  I never liked tattle-tales because they were always getting me into trouble!  But]  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!' 
41'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

Both of these sisters faced the same situation
at the same time.
But they responded in different ways
because of their priorities.

I also want you to note that Martha was a good woman
who was doing some good things,
but what Mary chose as her priority was better.

Mary was praised by Jesus because
she had her priorities straight.
Let's learn from these 2 women today.

I. Welcome Jesus into your home.
What we want to point out here is that
Mary and Martha both
welcomed Jesus into their home.

They just welcomed Him in different ways.

We never read of Jesus barging into someone's home.
He only goes where He is invited.

That is why we need to invite Jesus into our homes.

It doesn't matter if you are single or
if you have 28 kids.
We all have a home.
and Jesus needs to be a part of your home.

So, how do we invite Jesus into our homes?

One way is to remove anything
that would offend Him.

If you looked out the window and
saw Jesus physically walking up to your front door,
what would you do?

Would you run to the door and throw it open,
and welcome Him in?

Or would you first have to hide certain magazines or
other reading material?

Would you throw open the door,
or would you first have to change what was on the TV?

Would you run to the door,
or would you first try to hide some bottles or
flush some pills?



Would you welcome Jesus,
or would you first have to get out of that web site?
----------
If some of you saw Jesus walking up to your door
you would scream,
"BLEEP, BLEEP, BLEEP!  It's Jesus!"

Then you'd be putting a piece of duct tape over your mouth as you opened the door so
no more of those kinds of words
would slip out of your mouth in front of Jesus!

But if you think seriously about it,
isn't Jesus with you all the time?
Do you feel His presence?
Shouldn't we always be living in His presence?

And there are positive things you can do
to welcome Jesus into your home.

Something simple.
Thank God for your food before you eat it.

Listen to some Christian music.

If you are a parent,
provide videos that teach Bible stories and
Bible principles of life.

My family, as old as we are,
we are not too old to enjoy Veggie Tales together.
And there are so many others.

But most of all, prayerfully read the Bible.
As you read, let God speak to your heart.

Welcome Jesus into your home and your life.

II. Seize the moment.

Let's be honest.
Most of us live a very fast-paced life.

We want to prioritize and
weed out some things, but
you look at the list and ask, "What?"

Mary realized that Jesus was always on the move.
Even though He was here today,
it did not mean she would have the opportunity to
learn from Him tomorrow.
Jesus might be heading to another city the next day!

So while Jesus was there,
she learned from Him.

She sat at His feet and
soaked it all up.
-------------------------------------------
We all need to seize the moment.

Sometimes we need to make an
"on the run prioritizing" of our time.

Last year I went to a conference at CCU.
CCU has a new resource library I wanted to check out
and I had a little time before
a large group session began and went in.

The only person in there was
a church planter from my past.

So we began catching up and
he began sharing and
suddenly that music at the beginning of the session
wasn't so important.

Seizing the moment is taking advantage of
a higher priority.

Make learning opportunities high on your priority list.
Whether they are planned,
like a worship service.
Or whether they are suddenly dropped in your lap,
seize the moment.
----------------------------
Then there are times when we are the helper.

One night I was hurrying home and
stopped off at Krogers for some bread and milk.

Someone with a basket of groceries
stopped and talked.

She said she didn't want me to visit their house
because someone might see my car there and
ask why I was there.

She didn't want to meet me at church because
someone might see her car there and
ask why she was at church.

We wound up having a 45 minute counseling session
in Krogers!

My stomach had to wait on food.
It was seizing the moment.

III. Treasure relationships above activity.

Did you catch Verse 40?
It says, "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made."

Remember, this was a wealthy family.
Martha was probably giving the servants directions.

They could put a meal on the table,
but Martha wanted a meal that would honor Jesus.

She was fretting over the details.

Martha has been ripped on by
preachers and teachers for a lot of years.

But Martha wanted this to be a special meal
that would honor Jesus.
She was making certain everything was perfect.

Obviously, Martha was doing something that was good.
But it wasn't what was most important at the moment.

Remember, Jesus is quickly approaching His death.

And when a person is dying,
they don't ask to see things.
They want to see the people they love.

Treasure relationships above activity.

Jesus would rather have Martha's attention than
the perfect meal.


Fred Craddock wrote:
If we censor Martha too harshly, she might abandon serving altogether. If we commend Mary too profusely, she may sit there forever. There is a time to go and do, and there is a time to listen and reflect. Knowing which and when is a matter of spiritual discernment.

There is so much wisdom and understanding
in that statement.

The flower arrangement on the table and
the fancy silverware were not important
once Jesus showed up.

The food tastes the same whether
it is served on an every day plate or
on expensive china.

Jesus told her in Verse 41,
"'41`'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

Mary's priorities were straight.

We need to be like Mary.
We need to be active.
We all need a meaningful area of service.






But even more we need that relationship with Jesus.

Folks, if there is anything that gets in the way of
your relationship with Christ,
either shove it down on the priority list or
eliminate it all together.

It could be a hobby.
It could be an addiction.
It could even be
being involved in too many activities in the Church!!

Bet you never thought you'd hear a preacher say that!

In the book entitled First Things First, Covey and Merrill ask, "Are you living by the clock or by the compass?" The clock represents appointments, schedules, how you manage your time and activities. But the compass represents your values, your vision, your principles, your mission and your conscience. Often there is too big of a gap between the two. The challenge is to live by the important issues of the compass not the clock.

Tony Dungy is the coach of
the Indianapolis Colts football team and
winner of the Super Bowl.

In his book, Quiet Strength he tells about life as a child and he said, "Our home was a small, green two-story house with wood siding and a dirt backyard.  Any grass bold enough to try to come up would be instantly trampled by all the neighborhood kids--and my mom--playing whatever game was in season."

Keep your priorities straight.

Activities, like having a nice lawn are good,
but playing with the kids is better.

Be involved, but never lose sight of what is most important.
Treasure relationships above activity.

Finally,
IV. Cling to your values.

Can't you just picture Martha in the kitchen,
giving orders louder and louder
so Mary would hear and get the hint?

But Mary was ignoring the hint.
She kept her priorities straight.
She stayed with Jesus.

And the more Martha fumes,
the more her stomach churns,
until she finally goes out and
explodes about Mary to Jesus!

Now men, you may have trouble understanding this, but
I'm certain Mary knew Martha was upset with her.
Women can sense these things.

Us guys go through life in a fog.
Our wives can be upset with us for long periods of time
and we don't even know it until they tell us!

And after they tell us we have to pull out of them
why they are upset with us.




But women know these things.
And Mary, knowing why Martha was
shouting orders louder and louder,
stayed with Jesus.
She clung to her values.

Then Martha storms into the room.
Mary was criticized by her sister Martha.
But we don't read of her jumping up and
changing her priorities.

MARY CLUNG TO HER VALUES.

And you know what?
Sometimes it is tough to cling to your values.

How far do you go to fit in?
How far will you go to get ahead financially?
How far will you go to pass that test?
When people make fun of you
for being a Christian,
Do you cling to your values?

Look at Verse 41 one last time.
"'41Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, 42but ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED.

Do you know what that one thing is that you need?
A relationship with Jesus.

If you need Jesus this morning,
come to Him in faith.
As we sing come forward and
admit your faith to others,
which we call confession, and
determine you will begin following Him as your Lord,
which is what we call repentance.
Then following Him in baptism,
begin a new life of walking with Jesus.

Or maybe you've already done that and
would like to place your membership with us.
Come forward as we stand and sing.