ONLY ONE THING IS NEEDED, THE WORD!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson;
Colossians 1:21-28
Old Testament Lesson;
Genesis 18:1-14
Sermon Text;
Luke 10:38-42
Johann Schroder wrote the hymn ‘One Thing’s Needful’, as an explanation of our sermon text for this morning, which is taken from Luke 10:38-42, which reads:
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."
These are Your Words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth; Your Word is truth. Amen.
"Oh my goodness! That was Jesus, just now, on the phone! He called and said He is going to be at our house in one hour, to visit!"
"Boys, you need to get to your rooms. They are a mess. You need to go, pick up your clothes and your toys. You need to get things all spruced up. Jesus is going to be here in one hour! When you are done with that, you need to go to the family room, and also down to the basement, because your stuff is laying all over the place. You need to make sure that it is all picked up."
"Honey! The lawn has not been mowed yet. You are going to have to get out there and do that. The garage needs to be picked up, too!"
"And, what am I going to make, when Jesus is here for a meal? I am going to have to run to the grocery store and pick up some stuff. I will be back, as soon as I can."
"I am back! Jesus is going to be here in 15 minutes, and there is still a pile of papers sitting around. Somebody pick that up and shove it under the bed. Somebody has to spruce up the bathrooms a little bit. Oh no, there is a piece of carpet over there that has not been vacuumed yet."
"Oh my goodness, the doorbell just rang. He is here! Somebody let Him in and then come, and help me finish getting the meal ready."
"Well, He has been here for 15 minutes and has not stopped talking since He came in the door. They all have been just sitting there, just listening to Him. Jesus knows everything. He knows that I am so busy, trying to get a meal ready for Him. I am sure that He does not want to be rude, so I am going to have to go and talk to Him."
"Jesus it is so good to see you. We are so happy that you have come to be a guest in our home. But, can’t you see that I am trying to get everything ready? Can’t you tell them to come and help me?"
That is what is going on with Martha. Martha loved her Savior. She opened her house to her Savior. She was working hard, to serve her Savior. And, as we look at Martha, each one of us should look at ourselves, as well. It says here in the Bible that she opened her house to Jesus. We have done that too. We are Christians, and that means that we have opened our house to Jesus. That means that Jesus is the guest at our house.
I have seen a little plaque that says,
"Jesus is the unseen guest at every meal,
the silent listener to every conversation."
That is true in our homes. Jesus is the guest in our homes. That saying is a wonderful reminder that no matter what we do in our homes, Jesus is a guest. However, there is a sad part to that saying,
"The silent listener to every conversation."
Is Jesus the silent guest in our homes? Is He the one that we don’t let talk in our homes?
Martha was caught up with good things. It was a good thing for her to be preparing a meal for her Savior. We are involved with our families in our homes, in many good ways.
It is a good thing to make a meal for your family.
It is a good thing to do the dishes.
It is a good thing to do the laundry for the family.
It is a good thing to fold the laundry.
It is a good thing to mow the yard.
It is a good thing to go to work.
It is a good thing to go to some entertainment with our children, with our family.
It is a good thing to do projects around the home.
It is a good thing to have family and friends over, entertain them, and celebrate together.
It is a good thing to make plans with the family to go away for a weekend on trips or, to go away for a while on vacations.
It is a good thing to be involved in sports with our children and go to sporting events.
It is a good thing to do all of those things.
Those are all wonderful gifts from God.
But, how many times in our life, have we been so caught up in all of those good things, those wonderful gifts that God has given to us, that we have gone to bed at night, laid down our head on the pillow, and thought to ourselves, "We lived a full day today, but Jesus was silent in our house today. We never took the time to let Him speak to us. We never took the time to hear His Word. Jesus was the silent guest in our house today."
How many times have we gone through the whole week, and when the week is over, laid our head down on the bed and thought, "We were caught up in so many good things this week, gifts from God, but Jesus was the silent guest at our house this week, (or this month)."
Certainly, all of us, as we look Martha, are convicted in our own hearts. We are convicted in our own hearts. The explanation of the Third Commandment says, "We should fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly, gladly, hear and learn it."
So many times Jesus has been silent. His Word has been silent.
What did Jesus say to Martha, when Martha came to Him and acted as if Jesus was almost inconveniencing her, with His Word? "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Sometimes we may even feel it is an inconvenience for us, to sit down. We just don’t have time today, to have a devotion. We are just not going to have time this weekend, to go to church. We are just too busy with other things. What did Jesus say? He didn’t say that what Martha was doing was evil, or wrong. It was a good thing that she was preparing a meal. But, what did Jesus say? He said, "Martha, Martha, 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."
There, Jesus said those profound words, "only one thing is needed". That one thing needed in our lives is the Word of God, the voice of our Savior, Jesus speaking to us.
The Word of God
in our homes,
in our families
has the power
to do, what nothing else in this life
could even begin to do!
The very Word of God is an awesome thing!
To think, the Word of God has the power to create the heavens and the earth! Simply by speaking the Word, it all came into existence!
Jesus said to the storm, "Peace. Be still." Simply by speaking the Word, the Word of Jesus, the storm had to listen!
Jesus spoke into the grave and said, "Lazarus, come forth." Simply by speaking the Word, death itself had to submit to the very Word of Jesus, our Savior!
That same powerful and effective Word should be in our homes, and in our family. It can do, what nothing else can do.
The Word of God is powerful and effective.
It will accomplish the purpose for which God has sent it.
What can the Word of God do in our families, that nothing else can do? Number one, in the book of Ezekiel the Word of God says,
"The Word of God is like a hammer,
that breaks the rocks to pieces."
There, it is talking about our stony hearts. Our stony hearts need the Word of God. It points out our sin, our faults, and our errors against God. It breaks our stony hearts and brings us to repentance for our sins. If there is no repentance for sin, if we do not see that our sin ultimately leads to condemnation, then we will feel no need for a Savior. Where there is no understanding that I need a Savior, then all is lost. So number one, the Word of God in our homes can bring us to repentance over our sin and a longing for our Savior.
Number two; the Word of God can do what nothing else can do. It can tell sinners where their salvation is found. It is only in the Word of God that we find the absolute promises of God, promises that cannot, do not, and will not fail.
There, God speaks to you, personally and individually, promising you that His own, dear Son came to this world for you.
His own, dear Son came to this world, and went to the cross with your sins.
His own, dear Son died on the cross to pay the full complete price for your sins.
In His Word, He gives that unshakeable promise that there is nothing left that you have to do, to earn salvation. Jesus has fully, completely earned it for you. God the Father is satisfied with His Son’s payment for sins, and, your sins are forgiven. Nowhere else, nowhere else can our family find those promises.
Nowhere else can our family come to believe those promises. The Bible describes our hearts as dead and cold. We don’t have the ability to bring ourselves to faith in Jesus, or to keep ourselves in faith in Jesus. But the Bible says,
"Faith comes from hearing the message
and the message is heard through the Word of Christ."
It is only through the Word, in your families, that the Holy Spirit reaches into our hearts and performs a miracle. He brings dead, cold hearts to believe that God’s Word is true. Jesus died for my sins! My sins are forgiven! God loves me! Nothing in this life can take away the love that Jesus has for me! It brings us to the joy, the absolute joy of salvation that transcends all human understanding! Only the Word of God can do that in our homes and in our families.
Only the Word of God in our families can motivate us to be changed from the inside out. Only the Gospel message that Jesus died for my sins creates in me a new heart, through the power of the Holy Spirit that says, "I want to go forward in my family and in my home. I want to live for my Savior."
Oh, look at what the Word of God does! Look at what it does! How can we let Jesus be silent in our homes?
Only the Word of God can help us to be defended from all that is out there, which attacks our faith, from every direction. The Bible says that there are many hollow and deceptive philosophies in this world. Our children and we are bombarded day and night. We are bombarded through the TV, what we read, and what we see. It is only the Word of God that can open our eyes to the Truth. It can help us discern truth from falsehood, and so defend our souls. How can we let Jesus be silent in our homes?
It is only the Word of God that can defend us against temptation. What was the one tool that Jesus used, when He was tempted in our place, by the devil? It was the Word. He said, "It is written…It is written". With that Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, He drove away the temptation of Satan. Jesus wants to bring that same Word into our homes, where we can take up the Sword of the Spirit, as we sit at His feet and hear His Word. And, by that Sword of the Spirit, drive away temptation. How can we let Jesus be silent in our homes?
One of the great benefits of being a pastor is seeing in bold, vivid detail the Truth that only one thing is needed, the Word of God. How I wish all of you could have been together with me, in a couple of places, this past week. (I get to see this every week.) I was at one of our shut-in’s homes. Her home now is a nursing home. She has just one little room, with a TV, a bed and a few other possessions, and that is it.
I walked into her place. And, as she saw me she said, "Pastor. Oh Pastor! It is so good to see you. How is everybody at Holy Cross?"
She wanted to hear all about Holy Cross. But while I was talking, (before I even had a chance to do what I came for), she stopped me and said, "Pastor I want the Lord’s Supper today."
And then, she looked at me and said something that went all the way through me. She said, "I want the Lord’s Supper today. You know Pastor, I am getting very old."
What was she saying? She knew that the end was getting closer, and closer. She knew the day when she stands before the Judgment Seat of God is almost here. And, she wanted to be ready. She wants to be ready. And, so, she wanted Jesus to come, and be not the guest in her home, but the Host. She wanted Jesus to be the Host. She wanted to have Jesus come and speak to her, in her home. She wanted to hear the Words of Jesus, in the Lord’s Supper.
How does the Lord’s Supper do such great things? It is not the eating and the drinking that does these things, but the Word of God, here written,
"Given and shed for you,
for the forgiveness of sins."
She wanted to hear Jesus proclaim to her that her sins were all forgiven, which strengthened her in her faith and prepared her for that day when it finally comes. Only one thing is need and nothing else could prepare her for that. Nothing else can begin to compare what the word of Jesus did for that Christian woman.
I went to another shut-in’s place. She has had a hard life, and doesn’t feel good. I got there at 11:30 in the morning, and she was all bundled up and still in bed. She said, with sad eyes, "Hi Pastor."
I asked her how she was doing and she said, "Not so good. I am so tired."
So, I shared with her the 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd". And then, we talked about how Jesus is our Shepherd, and we are His sheep. He laid down His life for His sheep. And, if He laid down His life for us, He will surely care for us, no matter what we are going through in our life.
Then, we said a little prayer about the Good Shepherd. When the prayer was done, she said to me, "I hope to see my Shepherd, soon."
Oh, how comforted she was, by the Word of Her Savior. Jesus was the Host, not the guest. He was the Host. She sat at His feet and she listened to His Words. They gave her comfort that nothing else in this world can give. And, she longed to be with Him. One thing is needed, only one thing.
I wish you could come to me, when a loved one passes away and I have the opportunity to go to the family’s home. There is a spouse, children, and grandchildren. And, they are sad. They are sad, but they are happy. They are happy, because there in that home, Jesus becomes, not the guest, but the Host. He becomes the Host. It is only His Word, only His Word that can do what nothing else can do. It can give profound comfort, in the midst of deepest sorrow.
The promise of Jesus, which is unshakable, that their loved one, by faith in Jesus, has now obtained the victory, and is now in Heaven.
The promise of Jesus, which says the Day of Resurrection is coming and we will be united together again, by faith in Jesus, our Savior.
The promise of the voice of Jesus, which says that He will be with us, through all of our trials.
Nothing else, nothing else can give that comfort. There is only one thing needed.
All of us have a little bit, or a lot, of Martha in us. Often we are distracted. God’s Word does not take the prominent place in our lives that it should. We pray that Jesus would lead us to hold His Word as holy, and gladly hear it and learn it.
I will tell you this, as a pastor. Whenever I sit down to write a sermon about how important God’s Word is in our lives, in our daily devotions, and going to church, one of the things that always crosses my mind is that although all of us need to hear this message, (everyone of us), it crosses my mind that some of the people who I really wish could hear this, are not going to be here, today. There are Marthas in our midst, who are not here today. Maybe they have not been here in a long time. Maybe you live with one of them. Maybe one of them is a friend. Maybe one of them is a relative. They are involved in good things, but Jesus has been silent in their lives for a while.
How are they going to hear, how are they going to hear this message today? From you. They will hear it from you! Go home, and go to your friends. Jesus says,
"He who hears you,
hears me."
You be the voice of Jesus. You bring the voice of Jesus, the Word of God, to them. You share the Word with them. Even, in one way or another, you bring that wonderful reminder from Jesus, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted about many things, but only one thing is needed."
It is true. We should fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it!
Amen.
Top of Page
|| Church Sermons || Return to Home Page