Well, good morning, everyone. It's great to see you here. What a lovely day. Thank you
to all who've participated so far in our service. Could I ask you to grab your Bibles? It's
so important that we have God's Word out in front of us. So whether that's a paper copy
or you scroll down in your phone or iPad, whatever it is you do, then make every effort
to get the Scriptures open in front of you. And Luke chapter 10 and verses 38 to halfway
through chapter 11 is where we are this morning. You should have received hopefully a sermon
outline as you came in. That's going to be quite important for this morning. So if you
don't have one, put your hand in the air that you just don't care and Al McIntosh will get
one to you. But why don't we still ourselves as we come to this wonderful portion of Luke's
Gospel that we've been in for quite a while. And let's take just a moment in our Martha
world just to have a moment of Mary's stillness. Will we do that and we'll pray as we come
to God's Word this morning. Let's pray.
Our Father, we would thank you for this morning. And we would ask that as we come to your words
now that you would help us to still ourselves, to still our hearts. Father, you would help
us to focus our minds and to be ready to both receive and meet with you, we pray in Jesus'
precious name. Amen.
Well, to get us thinking this morning, if you had to sum up your life at present in one word,
what would that word be? Why don't you just take 10 seconds, turn to your neighbor. What
is that one word that you're thinking of that describes your life right now?
Okay, it's 10 seconds. Put your hands up. Here's a little case study this morning. Put
your hands up if that word was the word busy. Come on, show of hands. How many of us that
was the word busy describes our life just now? Right in the air. So just have a look around
and take that in. Because we are a busy people. You can put your hands down now. We are a busy
people. It's one of the buzzwords of our day, isn't it? Our generation busy. We are always,
always busy. Everybody's busy. Everyone I talk to is busy. Even in pastoral ministry,
when you go to minister's conferences, how do people respond? How are you? Oh, I'm busy.
We're always busy. In fact, I heard someone the other day refer to our always on world. Our phones
are never off. Our alerts are always going. Our minds are always active. We live in an always
on busy world. Well, here's the question that I want us to think about this morning.
What are we busy with? There are, I don't know if you've ever stopped to think about this, there
are 10,080 minutes in a week. Just think to yourself, what do you fill them with? What are
you busy doing? Here's the challenge that God's word would bring to us this morning as those who are
following Jesus Christ? Are we making room in our busy lives for the things which matter most?
Now, if you remember last week, we said that we're in this kind of school of discipleship portion
of Luke's gospel. And the big question that Luke's trying to get his readers to think through
is what does it mean to follow this King? What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ?
And last week, we looked at the parable of the Good Samaritan, and we saw that following Jesus
involves sacrificially and compassionately loving and caring for those round about you as those who
have been made in God's very image. But this week, if last week's question was, or discipleship lesson
rather, was an external lesson, well, this week Luke gives us an internal one. And it's no accident
that he's put those two right together next to each other. There's an external part to following Jesus,
and there's an internal part. In other words, it's not all about doing, it's about being and knowing.
What are the things which matter most? That's the question that we should be asking right about now.
Well, we're going to see two things this morning that should mark our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.
What are they? Sitting and listening and stopping and praying. In other words, what will a disciple be marked by?
Well, he or she will be marked by firstly, devotion, and secondly, dependence.
And if you've got your Bibles there, we pick up the narrative at verse 38 of chapter 10, if you've got it there.
And Jesus has been welcomed into Martha's house.
And Luke tells us this story.
And as he tells us this story, the focus of his story isn't as much on Jesus as it is actually on these two sisters.
Do you notice that there? Firstly, who do we get in the story?
Martha, the host.
How would she describe her life in one word?
Well, she's busy.
She's busy. What's she doing?
She's busy being a good host.
Now, you can picture her, can't you, in the scene?
She's chopping the veg.
She's cooking the stew.
She's setting the table.
She's got Jamie Oliver's 15-minute meals out in front of her.
All of that summed up in those words that Luke gives us at verse 40, if you see.
Much serving.
This is Martha.
Much serving.
That's what she's doing.
But it's not what she's doing that seems to be the problem, but how she's doing it.
And the way that Luke tells us the story here, it gives us the clues that we need to be able to ascertain the true state of Martha's heart.
How is she?
Verse 40.
Distracted.
Here we have a distracted sister, which I think we are led to understand means a little more than she was just a little bit flustered as she was going about her chores.
It's more than that.
She is overwhelmed.
She's bothered and she's burdened.
And do you see how it comes out?
It spills out in her language.
Do you see it there?
Such a blessing for us in our lives, isn't it?
That what makes it to our tongues is just simply a byproduct of what's going on in our hearts.
What does she do?
Verse 40.
She confronts Jesus.
Now you can picture her.
She throws off her apron.
She throws the dish towel on the floor.
Lord.
Notice what she calls him there.
It's not that Mary doesn't know who he is.
Lord.
Do you not care?
Do you not care that Mary is doing nothing?
Well, I'm doing absolutely everything.
Now we have to say there's a little bit of us that understands what she's saying there, doesn't it?
How is Jesus going to respond?
What's he going to say?
Good point, Martha.
Come on, Mary.
You need to up your game here.
No.
What does he say?
Would you notice the grace in Jesus' response to her?
Martha, Martha.
Gentle yet deeply concerned words for this woman.
Verse 41.
Jesus, he sees her heart.
And he sees that she is anxious.
And she's troubled about so many different things.
But the cares of this world, the pressures of life, what are they doing?
They're coming into her heart.
They're choking her joy.
And they're dragging her away from a right devotion to Jesus, her master.
You see, it's not that the stuff that Mary is doing is bad.
It's just that those things are pulling her away from what is best.
Kevin DeYoung, he writes this about this passage.
Martha is so busy with dinner that she's giving Jesus her spiritual leftovers.
Here's Martha.
She's busy.
And then we get the other sister, don't we?
We get Mary.
And where is she in this picture?
She's sitting with the right heart at Jesus' feet.
She's like Greyfriars Bobby.
You go and you look at his statue just up Northbridge.
I pass it every day and I stop to read it this week.
You see the plaque that reads,
Here is the dog that faithfully followed his master.
This is Mary.
She's there.
She's at his feet.
Because we need to understand that in Jesus Christ,
she's found somebody who's captivated her heart.
That's why she's at the feet of Jesus.
And what is she doing at the feet of Jesus?
She's listening to his teaching.
The very words from her master's mouth.
You see, Jesus hasn't just captivated her heart.
He's captivated her mind.
And what does Jesus say about her?
Some of the most beautiful words I think Jesus says about a human being here.
What has she chosen?
The good portion.
It's kind of psalmy language.
The language of the psalms about close fellowship with God being the most desirable thing in one's life.
Mary has chosen the good portion and Jesus commends her for it.
Jesus commends her for her undistracted devotion to him and his words.
And I think that as we read this story this morning, we are invited.
As we look at this woman here, we are invited to ask ourselves as followers of Jesus,
which one is your heart?
Help us think that through.
Let me ask us a couple of diagnostic heart questions.
Firstly, do you detect the marks of Martha?
Do you see them in your own life?
Do you see anxiety clouding your heart?
Do you find yourself distracted by the pressures of life?
And do you notice it firstly in your actions?
And particularly, do you notice it in your words?
The words in your texts?
And the tone of your emails, how you reply to people, and the things that you post on Facebook and Twitter,
do you notice this in your words?
And maybe even those internal words, those kind of mental manuscripts that we always write,
the internal things that never actually make it to print.
Do you see the marks of Martha in your life this morning?
It's even possible to be distracted, isn't it, as we serve in church?
Things of this world that we allow them to cloud us as we serve in here?
Do you detect the marks of Martha?
And secondly, do you desire the heart of Mary?
It's a beautiful irony in this story that the one that's held up to us here never actually says a word.
What did she do?
Well, let me just draw your attention to two words.
Mary firstly chose.
That's the verb there.
She chose.
She presumably made the decision.
And amongst all the other things that could have occupied her time,
all the things that could have taken her attention and drawn her away,
she decides to choose to sit at her Lord's feet and listen to his words.
And according to Jesus, Mary chose that which was good.
It was good.
I'm sure if you'd asked her at this point,
Mary, do you need to spend time with Jesus?
Do you need to spend time listening to him?
She would have looked at you puzzled.
And she would have replied,
No, I do not have to do it.
I get to do it.
And the question for us this morning is,
as disciples,
as followers of this King,
do we see that choosing to spend time,
making the time,
to be with our Lord,
with our Bibles open,
listening to his word every day,
is good for us?
It's good for us.
Just something practical.
If you're looking for something to do this week,
something I found really helpful is just to write the word,
this is the good portion,
on a post-it note,
and stick it on the front of my Bible.
Because it reminds me,
as I come to this every morning,
that this isn't a duty,
this is a delight.
That I get to sit at the feet of my Lord
and listen to his words every morning.
This is the good portion.
Can I say what I found out quite transforming this week in my own life?
That this is the good portion,
what a great thing to be reminded of,
as we come to read our Bibles every morning.
Before we move to Edinburgh,
Alex and I used to live in Bristol.
Lovely city.
And in Bristol,
there's this street called Muller Road.
And it's named after one of Bristol's most famous sons,
George Muller.
Don't even know anything about George Muller.
I knew diddly-squat before I moved down to Bristol.
But George Muller is a wonderful Christian man.
Because as well as being a pastor and a traveling preacher,
he's most famous for founding a number of orphanages
in and around Bristol and further seas as well.
In fact, in his lifetime,
I googled it this week,
he pioneered the construction of five large orphan houses
and he cared for 10,024 orphans.
This is George Muller.
Do you see what a difference this faith made in his life?
Now there's a busy man.
Right?
Busy man.
And he wrote in his journal,
he wrote,
somebody asked him,
how did he do all of it?
How did he do all of it
and serve with a heart of joy?
And he writes this in his diary.
He says this.
Now this is wonderful if you want to listen to this.
He said,
I saw more clearly than ever
that the first great and primary business
to which I ought to attend every day
was to have my soul happy in the Lord.
It's another wonderful phrase.
To have my soul happy in the Lord.
That's Mary.
She is thrilled with Jesus.
She is delighted with her master.
There she is sitting at his feet,
desperate for more of his words.
You know,
are we making room in our busy lives
for the things which matter most?
Are our lives as disciples,
are they first they are,
are they characterized by devotion?
And secondly,
as we move into chapter 11 this morning
and this wonderful passage about prayer,
we get the second mark of the true disciple.
Are our lives marked by dependence?
Now look how we get into chapter 11 here.
What does Luke tell us?
He tells us that Jesus was praying.
He was praying,
which I don't know about you,
but that always encourages me.
That Jesus,
in amongst the busyness of his life and ministry,
in amongst all the people,
all the urgent situations that surrounded him,
all the needy people that came to him,
he made time
and he made prayer,
that is communion with his heavenly father.
He made it an absolute priority in his life.
And by including this here,
I think Luke's lesson for us as we look on
is that if dependent prayer was appropriate
for the creator of the universe,
then it's certainly appropriate for you
who would try and follow him.
It encourages me.
It challenges me.
And his disciples,
what do we get there?
They look at him praying
and they ask him,
will you teach us to pray?
Which is a wonderful question.
Teach us how to pray.
Jesus gives them three big lessons
in the school of prayer.
Three big lessons
that I found to be so practical this week,
so helpful this week,
so challenging this week,
so transforming this week.
Three big lessons
that I've got so much to teach us this morning
as we follow after this king.
You ready for them?
First,
big lesson,
verses one to four.
Jesus lays out for his disciples
what they should pray.
Verse two,
when you pray,
say.
Do you see this?
He gives them the very words to say.
And there's two axes,
I think,
to this prayer.
There's the kind of God word axis
and there's the you word axis.
It starts
with God and his glory
before it moves to
you and your needs.
Wonderful lesson for us there
that we'll come on to see
in just a moment.
Firstly,
let's consider the God word axis.
Who is this God
that they pray to?
He's the all-powerful one.
He's the all-knowing
and all-present one.
He is the creator
and sustainer
of absolutely everything
and he is a blind
and he is a blindingly
holy God.
And what is his relationship
to them
and to us
this morning?
Distant spectator?
No.
Ruthless dictator?
No.
Father.
Jesus invites,
and get your heads around this,
his disciples
to call this God
Father.
It's the Greek word
pater there.
Now whatever the precise usage
of that word was
in this culture,
surely the main point
that Jesus is making
is that the relationship
between this God
and his people
is one of intimacy
and access.
That he is no cold
and distant God.
He is a gracious
and a near Father.
Now what an amazing mystery
that is.
That the almighty God
would look on us
and because of his son
Jesus Christ
and his shed blood
on the cross
that makes us right
with our heavenly father,
our God,
that he adopts us
and he calls us
his sons
and daughters.
Is it not a mind-boggling joy
that the one we address
in prayer
and we get these two truths,
firstly,
that we come before him
reverently
because he is holy,
that he is so far above us?
As I heard one person
say it this week
how we must be careful
not to just simply
address God
as the God almighty.
He is the God almighty.
We must never lose
that sense of reverence
as to who he is
and who we are.
He is a holy God.
But secondly,
the second truth to grasp
is that we come before him
because of Jesus.
We come before him confidently
and we can call him
our father.
Two wonderful truths
that we must never let go of.
Oh, in our Christian lives
may we never get past
the jaw-dropping effect
of that one word.
He is our father.
And so the only response to us
as we get that right
is hallowed be your name.
hallowed.
It's the cry of a transformed heart
that beats for God's glory
and says,
God, because you are so great
I want to see your name
in lights.
I want to see your name
made great in my life,
in our lives,
and in our lands.
I want people up and down
our nation,
in our city
to see your greatness, God.
Would they see it?
And would your kingdom come?
Would your rule
and your reign,
would it come here?
Would you save people
in our city
to yourself
as they hear
and respond
to the message
of Jesus Christ?
And not just in our city
and in our land,
but in the world.
Do you see the truth
for us there?
that knowing God rightly,
it feels worship,
it feels mission,
and it feels prayer.
This is our God.
So Jesus rightly,
as he gives them
this pattern of prayer,
he begins by drawing
their gaze to God.
As if to say,
it starts with him,
it doesn't start with you.
He is the orbit
in which you are operating,
not the other way around.
Once they have
their vision
of who God is,
God their Father,
once they have
that vision refined
and clarified,
then they can
begin to see
themselves rightly.
And we get
the other axis
to this prayer.
Firstly,
the God word axis.
Secondly,
the you word axis.
What does Jesus
teach us
teach his disciples
about themselves?
Well,
as we've already
sang earlier,
and this is the reason
we sang it,
he teaches them
this profoundly
simple yet
wondrously
profound
lesson about
the Christian life,
and it's that
we need
God.
We
need
God.
They need
God.
There's three
aspects of their
need that Jesus
outlines here in this
prayer.
firstly,
they need a bread.
Do you see it there?
The daily things
that they need for life.
Jesus is teaching
them to stop
and reflect
that,
God,
you are the one
who makes the sun
rise every morning.
God,
you are
the one
who sustains me
and provides for me.
You see,
Jesus is teaching
them here to have
a heart stance
of dependence
and thankfulness.
Lord,
that Sunday
happened today,
not just because
it rolled around
from Saturday,
but Sunday
happened today
because you
decided it should
happen today.
And you have
got your purposes
to fulfill today
for your glory.
That's why it
happened today.
I wonder if you
find yourselves
thankful this
morning.
Do we find
ourselves
aware of God's
goodness to us
every day,
every moment of
every day,
or have we
grown accustomed
to his
mercies?
As the late
John Stott
once said,
thankfulness
is a soil
in which
pride
does not
easily grow.
Father,
thank you.
They need bread.
Secondly,
they need forgiveness.
They need to be
examining their
own hearts,
confessing their
failures and
sin and
shortcomings
against their
holy father,
and recognizing
that he is
gracious,
and he is
merciful,
and knowing
that because of
Jesus and his
shed blood that
speaks a better
word for us,
that he is
faithful and
just to forgive
their sin.
And you see
how Jesus so
tightly knits
here the
relationship with
God to the
relationships with
others.
Because knowing
that they have
been forgiven
much by God,
it should affect
how they
relate to
others,
that they
seek to
forgive
others,
that they
seek to
be right
with others,
that they
seek to
deal with
issues that
arise with
others.
You know,
let me ask
you this
morning,
is there
anyone that
you need to
get right
with?
Is there
bitterness
brewing in
your own
heart against
another brother
or sister?
Is there
unconfessed
sin in the
chambers of
your heart
that is
holding your
back in
your walk
with the
Lord?
We need
forgiveness.
And thirdly,
they need
protection.
It's a
confession that
Lord, I know
my own sinful
heart, I know
as the old hymn
says, I know
that I am
prone to
wander, Lord,
I feel it.
I know my
weaknesses, and
so Lord, I
need you by
your spirit
living in me
to direct and
to guide my
every step and
my every
thoughts and
my every
action today.
Would you
deliver me from
evil?
I need you,
Heavenly Father,
I need you.
Before we
came to
Brunsfield five
odd years ago,
Alex and I,
we spent a bit
of time working
in a Christian
hospital,
Malawi, and
every morning
we used to
have these
team meetings
at a
ridiculous
o'clock in
the morning.
We used to
start by
reading a
portion of
God's word
together, and
we would sing
together.
Now, you
can imagine
coming from a
British background
into that.
It was a bit
weird singing
together.
But we sung
together, and I
used to think I
could hit a
note, but I
heard these
guys sing, and
I thought,
oof, right, I
can't hit a
note.
But every
morning we
used to sing
the same
song.
We used to
sing, give
me,
power, Lord
Jesus, give
me power, Lord
Jesus, give me
power, every
hour to be
strong.
O, give me
power, and I
used to repeat
about six
times.
Now, I'm
all up for
repeating
choruses, but
that one got a
bit repetitive.
But I sat
there, convicted,
because I
looked into my
own heart, and
I thought,
Graham, have
you ever sung
that song,
really?
Have you
ever
acknowledged
that you
need God?
Have you
ever acknowledged
that you do
not have the
ability to
guide your
way through
life?
You do
not have
all the
answers.
And in
fact, the
cry, if I'm
honest, the
song of my
own heart
was, I'm
okay, Lord
Jesus.
I've got the
power.
I've got the
power for
every hour to
keep me
strong.
And I
wonder if
that is
true for us
this morning
that we
rate our
ability to
navigate our
ways through
the ups and
downs of
life.
I've been
praying this
week for
us that we
would see that
we do not
have the
power.
Individually, in
our own
lives, we
would see our
need of God,
we would see
that we need
him, and
corporately as
a church, that
we would see
that we need
God.
how often
do we think
we're okay
because we
can put on
nice events, and
we can make
nice coffee, and
we can do nice
Bible studies, we
can function as
a church, we
can get by.
But my prayer
this week has
been, oh Lord,
would you rid
us of our
complacency?
As a church
community here,
would you forgive
us for the times
that we think in
our busy lives, that
we can run from
thing to thing, and
task to task, and
think that they
are excuses for
not stopping to
acknowledge that we
need Jesus.
you.
Do you feel that
in your own
heart?
Lord, I need
you.
Wednesday the
10th of May, prayer
meeting in the
upstairs hall.
We're going to
pray for our
nation, the UK.
We put that
together about six
months ago, not
really knowing what
would happen, but
what a time to
pray for our
country.
Brexit, snap
election, we
need to pray.
We need to pray
to our great
gods.
Come, Wednesday
the 10th of
May, let's pray
together as a
community, and
acknowledge that
we need him.
Martin Luther,
famously wrote,
I have so much
to do today that
it leaves me with
little option but
to spend the first
three hours of this
day in prayer.
You know, one
thing I've tried to
do this week, and
I'll invite you to
do it, is I've just
printed, well, just
try and make the
Lord's Prayer the
focus of my prayer
times this week.
and I've just printed
it on the back of
the sheet.
Maybe you want to
just, this week, make
that the focus of
your prayer, just slip
it inside your Bible,
come to it every
morning, and I
found it such a
realigning experience
to pray this prayer
and to stop after
every line.
That these are the
words my Lord gave
us, his followers,
to pray.
These are his
words.
And this is how I
should be praying.
Heavenly Father, I
need you.
That is what they
should pray, and
we'll rattle through
these last two.
I'm aware of time.
Secondly, verses 1
to 10, Jesus lays
out to his disciples
how they should
pray.
And he tells them
this parable, and
it's about a host who
receives an unexpected
guest at what you
must be able to say
is an ungodly hour.
And he's unprepared
for this guest.
Now, in this
culture, hospitality
is a big deal.
And so a first
century host would
do absolutely
everything in
their power to
offer their
guest the very
best that they
could give them.
In a village,
hospitality is not
just an individual
thing, it's a
corporate thing.
Everybody in the
community was
obliged to help
each other be a
good host.
And so it was
the duty of this
neighbor, no
matter how
inconvenient, no
matter what the
hour, his duty
to get out of bed
in order to help
his neighbor.
None of Jesus'
listeners would
refuse to get out
of bed.
That is the
point.
No matter what
time it was,
no matter what
the cry was,
to help a
neighbor in need.
So when Jesus
asks this question,
which of you has
a friend who
wouldn't act like
this in a situation
like that?
The disciples are
thinking to themselves,
well, none of us
have a friend like
that.
All of our
friends would
help.
Well, says Jesus,
if that neighbor
disturbed and
hassled as he may be,
if he will rise and
respond to the request
from his neighbor
and needs,
then how much
more will God
rise to answer
your prayers when
you knock at his
door and ask?
Big point from the
parable, that God
is not a begrudging
and inconvenience
grantor.
God is a willing
and ready giver.
If your friend will
answer your cry for
help because you
were bold in asking,
how much more will
God answer your
cry for help because
you are his child?
So what does Jesus
invite his disciples
to do here?
Ask.
In line of what
he's outlined to
them to pray, ask
and do it boldly.
Your friends may
reluctantly give you
what you need.
But how much more
as God's child will
he gladly give you
everything that you
need?
You may well be an
inconvenience to your
neighbor.
And if he answers,
how much more will
God your good
father be willing to
open up the door to
you?
This is how you're to
ask, says Jesus.
You're to ask boldly
and you're to ask
confidently.
And thirdly,
verses 11 to 13,
Jesus lays out for
them why they should
pray.
And again, it's
this how much more
logic.
There's a bit of
humor in there as
well, isn't it?
If you earthly
fathers, if you know
how to give good
gifts to your
children, how much
more will your good
and perfect father
not give his
children things that
will be bad or
dangerous for them,
but give them the
things that are good
for them?
And to see it
outlined there,
most notably, his
very presence with
us through the
Holy Spirit.
And as we close
this morning, let's
maybe bring a few
of those strands
together and bring
ourselves back to
that question that we
asked at the outset.
In our always-on
culture, are we
making room in our
busy lives for the
things which matter
most?
As disciples of
Jesus Christ, are we
making time in our
busy lives every day
to sit and listen
and to stop and
pray?
Are our lives, are
they marked by
undistracted devotion
and by unashamed
dependence?
And I thought it'd
be great for us this
morning, just as we
close, to close by
saying the Lord's
Prayer together as we
read it here.
But before we do
that, why don't we
just take a moment
before we rush into
our Martha world,
just to still our
hearts before the
Lord and let's
respond to his
words as we've
heard it this
morning.
Let's pray together.
Father, hallowed be
your name, your
kingdom come.
Give us each day our
daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we also forgive
everyone who sins
against us.
And lead us not into
temptation.
Amen.