WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.640 Good morning. Oh, that's pretty good. Good. It's an exciting day for me personally, and 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:16.240 I'm just very grateful as well just to be part of congregation together and this family. 00:00:16.339 --> 00:00:21.820 I'm very grateful for some friends and for people like Brett and many other people who've 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:26.839 come today to just really be with us on this day. So I'm excited, and I'm excited about 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:34.320 looking at this passage to you today because I think this is a very, personally, it's been 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:41.340 a very challenging passage. So let me just pray for us before we start. And I want you 00:00:41.340 --> 00:00:52.500 to, and I say this before every sermon, God wants to speak to us, and he wants our hearts 00:00:52.500 --> 00:01:02.980 to be open to him speaking to us. So Father, I just pray that you would open our ears to 00:01:02.980 --> 00:01:09.799 hear what you want to say. Open our hearts to be willing to take on board and to walk out 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:17.019 whatever you call us to do today. I pray that you'd use these words, but it's your spirit 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:22.939 that would come and change our lives because we love you and we want you in Jesus' name. 00:01:23.679 --> 00:01:31.500 Amen. I want to show you a cartoon of one of my favorite kind of cartoon series growing 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:36.099 up, which is called The Far Side. I don't know if you can see this. I'll move out of the 00:01:36.099 --> 00:01:41.399 way. Can you all see what's going on in this? Here you have all the knights entering into 00:01:41.399 --> 00:01:45.939 the castle. They're in a dangerous situation. They're on a mission, and just as they're going 00:01:45.939 --> 00:01:55.640 into the castle, one little guy spots a goldfish. And he sees a goldfish in the water, and he's 00:01:55.640 --> 00:02:00.799 distracted by this away from what he's supposed to be doing, which is taking the castle. 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:09.180 Now, I think this cartoon sums up a little bit of what actually Christianity in our city, 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:15.659 and even in my experience, can be like. We're a church. We're a people, a well-intentioned 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:23.819 people on a mission with a direction, but sometimes in life we just get distracted by the goldfish, 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:29.560 by the things that just catch our attention. And today we're kind of looking, and we're 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:35.300 continuing the series that we've started looking at sinners that Jesus met, ordinary people 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:42.659 in ordinary circumstances and situations. But when they meet with Jesus, it revolutionizes 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:52.240 their life. Because you cannot truly meet with Jesus and have no reaction. You cannot stay the same. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:58.639 Because if you truly meet with Jesus, either your heart grows colder and harder towards him, 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:04.519 or your heart is increasingly warmed by him. But if you stay apathetic and indifferent to him, 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:10.500 it shows you've never really met him. Because nobody who meets him goes away saying, 00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:19.980 oh, nice guy. Nobody does. And so we've looked at how the religious met Jesus and he challenged their 00:03:19.980 --> 00:03:25.520 world. We looked at how the suffering met Jesus and he gave them hope and life. And today we're 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:32.820 looking at how the distracted meet Jesus through the story of Mary and Martha. And I think this is 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:40.519 something we all need as a church to hear. And before I kind of get into the actual story, 00:03:40.539 --> 00:03:44.259 I want to just give us a little bit of context. Because if you've been in church for any length 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:49.060 of time, you may have heard this story. And often this story is told in this way. You know, 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:55.259 Martha was way too busy. She needed to cut out a load of stuff. Jesus prefers people like Mary who 00:03:55.259 --> 00:04:01.439 know how to be rather than do. Okay, so become like Mary, just kind of be. And that's kind of the way 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:06.439 that this story is often said. And then everyone stops serving in the kids' ministry and in community 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:12.639 groups because everyone's being and nobody's doing anything. But that's not the point of the story. 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:17.180 Because when you read the Bible, you've always got to read what comes before and what comes afterwards 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:24.459 in the context. And what comes before Luke positions you in this story here to show you the Christian life 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:31.699 is both action and communing with God, both doing and being. Because what you see is in Luke 9, 00:04:32.139 --> 00:04:37.240 Jesus sends the disciples out on mission, preaching, healing the sick, doing a whole load of stuff. 00:04:37.539 --> 00:04:42.219 They then come back and he tells them, now reflect for a minute of what you're doing. And he says, 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:46.699 rejoice, not in all the stuff you've seen doing, but rejoice that your names are written in the book 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:52.279 of life with heaven with me as being. And then straight after that, it's the story of the Good Samaritan, 00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:57.699 which is all the story about how God, you know, the religious people were just going on and wanting 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:01.959 to be religious. And Jesus says, no, no, no, no, no. If you see needs around you, you've got to be 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:08.000 out serving and you've got to be out loving them. So there's action, there's being, there's action. 00:05:08.119 --> 00:05:12.179 And then when you come to the story of Mary and Martha, and actually afterwards Jesus talks on prayer, 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:16.299 and Jesus says it's this whole package together. That's what the Christian life is. 00:05:16.299 --> 00:05:21.259 True spirituality, Luke is saying, is practical and it's active and reflective. 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:27.559 So don't go away thinking Jesus is just interested in becoming nuns or monks from the end of this. 00:05:27.659 --> 00:05:34.979 That's not the point of the story. But in a busy city like Hong Kong, this really does have a message for us. 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:40.739 And the story today is really about two people who are very dear to Jesus. 00:05:41.299 --> 00:05:46.799 John chapter 11 tells us Jesus loved Martha and her sister. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:53.259 And it's clear that this love was mutual. Both Mary and Martha loved Jesus. 00:05:53.780 --> 00:05:58.860 And you see, Martha seems to be a bit more like the older sister, you know, the responsible one. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.600 Mary seems to be more like the younger sister. I don't know how this works in your families, 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:05.180 but she's a kind of the little bit more carefree. 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:08.800 But we mustn't be too harsh on Mary, on Martha in this story. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:16.300 Because just think about it. Martha, it says, welcomes Jesus into her home. 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:19.540 Okay? And it wasn't just Jesus. Okay? 00:06:19.960 --> 00:06:22.340 Jesus had a whole crowd of people with him. 00:06:22.460 --> 00:06:28.319 At least 12 disciples. And previously in the chapter, there were 72 people with him that he sent out. 00:06:28.460 --> 00:06:34.400 And maybe if there was a few hangers on, just imagine there could be anything up to 100 people coming into their flat. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:43.159 Just think about that. After the service, 100 hungry, hairy, smelly, working class men coming, turning up at your flat. 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:45.219 What would your reaction be? 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:48.939 Hey, great to see you. I don't think that's the thing. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.859 But Martha doesn't show any reluctance at all. 00:06:52.099 --> 00:06:56.099 She welcomes them in. She wants Jesus to be in her house. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:58.759 And hospitality was a way of showing acceptance. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:06.800 So Martha loves Jesus enough to be totally disturbed. 00:07:08.060 --> 00:07:12.480 Which tells us, this story isn't primarily about how much you're doing or not. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.659 It's about focus and distraction. 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:17.620 So we're going to look at two questions. 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:18.980 Two very simple questions. 00:07:19.099 --> 00:07:20.279 One is, are you distracted? 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.680 The second one is, what's your one thing? 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:25.000 What's your one thing? 00:07:25.039 --> 00:07:26.659 Are you distracted? What's your one thing? 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:27.260 Okay? 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:31.760 So have your passage with you, and we'll kind of run through it a little bit. 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:33.520 Are you distracted? 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:40.580 Somewhere between the doorway and the kitchen, something in Martha changed. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:45.520 Martha went from loving, delighting in Jesus being with her, 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:50.540 to then getting frustrated, stressed, and even angry at Jesus. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:53.120 I mean, what happened? 00:07:53.200 --> 00:07:55.860 You see, for Martha, there was a whole load of stuff to do. 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:58.680 Feeding this number of people, crowding into a house. 00:07:58.900 --> 00:08:00.400 She couldn't just order pizza. 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:02.439 She couldn't food pander it in. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:05.280 She had a lot to do. 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.680 But Jesus doesn't take issue with her to-do list. 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:11.680 He takes issue with her priority list. 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:12.460 Have a read of this. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:13.060 Verse 39. 00:08:14.960 --> 00:08:18.860 Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:24.259 Martha was distracted by much serving. 00:08:25.840 --> 00:08:32.259 That word distracted literally means pulled away, dragged away, drawn away. 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:37.139 Oh, Martha wished she could be there with Jesus, but there was so much serving she had to do. 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:38.539 There was so much to do. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:41.779 And she wanted to make this good for Jesus, right? 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:42.220 Wouldn't you? 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:45.420 If your boss came into town, you know, you want to make it good. 00:08:45.419 --> 00:08:47.360 You're not just going to put out cucumber sandwiches. 00:08:49.559 --> 00:08:52.979 And so she's in the kitchen. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:54.000 I can just imagine her. 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:56.419 You know, she's thinking, okay, we need Jesus' favorite lamb kebabs. 00:08:57.059 --> 00:08:58.019 We need a carb. 00:08:58.120 --> 00:08:58.879 We need dessert. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:08:59.719 We need soup. 00:08:59.779 --> 00:09:01.939 And it's like dish after dish after dish. 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:04.360 And there's 15 things that are kind of cooking all at once. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:06.899 And she's running around madly trying to fix stuff. 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:12.699 And there she looks over in the corner of her eye and there's Mary just sitting in the corner doing nothing. 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:17.879 And I can imagine her muttering under my breath, Mary, come here. 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:18.860 Help me out. 00:09:20.139 --> 00:09:23.659 But Mary just sits there, oblivious to Martha. 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:25.240 And so she continues running around. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.379 And you can see the volcano beginning to boil in Martha. 00:09:29.419 --> 00:09:31.840 And she's like, I've got everything to do, everything myself. 00:09:32.079 --> 00:09:34.120 Mary's so selfish, so lazy. 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:34.899 Doesn't she know it? 00:09:34.899 --> 00:09:35.439 So typical. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:36.580 And she's running around. 00:09:36.660 --> 00:09:38.860 I can just imagine, you know, her skirt. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.360 She turns around her skirt, catches one pot, you know, sends it flying, knocks it off the scale. 00:09:43.660 --> 00:09:44.660 Vegetables on the floor. 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:46.080 And it's like she's had enough. 00:09:46.540 --> 00:09:48.120 She storms into Jesus' meeting. 00:09:49.740 --> 00:09:59.060 And before she knows it, she hears herself saying, Jesus, don't you care that my sister has left me alone to serve? 00:10:00.060 --> 00:10:03.420 And pointing to Mary, she says, tell her to help me. 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:11.699 Now, I think she was hoping at that moment that Jesus would say, hey, I'm really sorry, Martha. 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:14.120 We should have been a little bit more thoughtful. 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:16.519 Mary and maybe Peter. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:17.360 Actually, no, not Peter. 00:10:17.419 --> 00:10:18.360 You're terrible at these things. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:20.099 But James, go and give her a hand. 00:10:20.219 --> 00:10:21.179 You're good at cooking fish. 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:21.899 Okay? 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:23.019 Go and give her a hand. 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:24.419 But he doesn't. 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:26.319 He doesn't. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:29.640 He responds with incredible tenderness. 00:10:30.180 --> 00:10:31.220 He calls her by name. 00:10:31.300 --> 00:10:33.300 He says, Martha, Martha. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:36.580 That's what my wife does when I'm stressed and she wants me to listen. 00:10:36.680 --> 00:10:38.680 She says, Chris, Chris. 00:10:39.520 --> 00:10:39.960 Okay? 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:41.180 You get the idea. 00:10:42.060 --> 00:10:45.740 You see, what Jesus is saying, he's saying, listen, I'm speaking to you out of relationship here. 00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:47.580 I'm not, I care about you. 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.120 I'm not trying to fix you. 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:51.700 But you need to hear this. 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:57.440 You're anxious and troubled about many things. 00:10:58.060 --> 00:11:00.460 You've got so much going on in your brain at the moment. 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:02.440 So many things you're trying to sort out. 00:11:02.540 --> 00:11:03.340 And you're worried. 00:11:03.520 --> 00:11:04.680 And you're stressed. 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:06.360 Anybody relate to that? 00:11:07.400 --> 00:11:09.700 Isn't that just kind of the Hong Kong disease? 00:11:10.040 --> 00:11:10.300 Right? 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:13.259 You've got so many plates you've got to keep spinning. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.419 And it's exhausting trying to keep them all going. 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:17.859 Maybe it's not food for you. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:18.579 Maybe it's kids. 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:19.399 Maybe it's education. 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:19.979 It's grades. 00:11:20.079 --> 00:11:20.500 It's deadlines. 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:21.120 It's projects. 00:11:21.339 --> 00:11:22.199 It's health issues. 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:24.279 It's all this stuff we're trying to keep going. 00:11:24.699 --> 00:11:28.319 And we come to the point sometimes of saying, Jesus, don't you care? 00:11:28.779 --> 00:11:30.159 And maybe we don't say that out loud. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:31.839 But inside, that's what we're thinking. 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:41.280 And if I was Martha at Jesus' response, who says, you're worried about many things, and 00:11:41.280 --> 00:11:44.700 I'd say, thanks for being so insightful, Jesus. 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.259 You're sure right I'm worried about many things. 00:11:48.420 --> 00:11:49.920 And I'm trying to serve you. 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:56.120 And if my sister would just help me out, then I'd be a little bit less stressed. 00:11:56.700 --> 00:11:57.000 Right? 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.240 But Jesus says, Mary's not the problem. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:04.360 Your anxiety and your focus is the problem. 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:10.320 Jesus doesn't rebuke her for serving. 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:12.680 It's not the serving that's the problem. 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:14.019 It's not the doing that's the problem. 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:14.700 He's saying, Martha. 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:18.919 You know, I don't think he's saying, Martha, it's okay. 00:12:19.620 --> 00:12:21.720 We were thinking of fasting today anyway. 00:12:22.180 --> 00:12:23.860 You know, don't worry about the food. 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:24.320 It's okay. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:24.860 It's chilled. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:26.899 Jesus isn't saying that. 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:30.139 He cares so much about Martha. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:38.000 Because when anxiety gets you, you know it tells you something. 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:40.820 It tells you you've lost your focus. 00:12:41.500 --> 00:12:47.180 It tells you you've been distracted from the most essential thing, which heals Jesus. 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.379 And her priorities had gone upside down. 00:12:51.379 --> 00:12:55.179 You see, when Martha started off, do you know what her priorities were? 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:55.439 Okay. 00:12:55.740 --> 00:12:56.120 Jesus. 00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:56.960 Okay. 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:58.120 And maybe his friends. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:12:59.480 And then serving them. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:00.460 Doing stuff. 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:02.460 And then herself at the end. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:02.919 Okay. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:06.000 She was willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of this. 00:13:06.220 --> 00:13:07.399 That's what the order was. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.480 But do you notice she gets distracted? 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:12.679 And then the order shifts. 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:14.100 Do you notice this? 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:20.399 It says, she says, Jesus, don't you care that my sister has left me alone? 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:22.460 Tell her to help me. 00:13:23.060 --> 00:13:23.740 What's happened? 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.000 Who's in the view most? 00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:25.800 Martha. 00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:29.120 Then it's all the stuff she's got to do. 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:30.580 Martha, I'm alone. 00:13:30.920 --> 00:13:31.639 Poor Martha. 00:13:32.300 --> 00:13:33.980 All the stuff I've got to do. 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:36.500 And then Jesus, kind of somewhere at the bottom. 00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:37.300 Don't you care? 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:41.820 And then maybe a little bit further down is actually Mary. 00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:42.800 Right? 00:13:43.060 --> 00:13:47.560 Because she's angry and annoyed at Jesus, the one she loves. 00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:50.620 Mary, who I presume she loved as a sister. 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:56.659 And that is so often what happens with us. 00:13:56.659 --> 00:14:04.620 Because with Martha, the distraction comes when it's both external things. 00:14:04.699 --> 00:14:06.019 All the stuff you've got to do. 00:14:06.319 --> 00:14:09.639 And then it comes internally about the things that you desire. 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:13.199 And when those two things meet, we can lose sight of what is essential. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:15.899 Martha's gaze. 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.139 She was looking at all the things she had to do. 00:14:19.699 --> 00:14:21.360 And she'd lost sight of what was essential. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:26.940 I don't know if you've ever seen a couple. 00:14:27.060 --> 00:14:28.100 Maybe you've been like this. 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:29.539 A couple planning their wedding. 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:30.580 Okay? 00:14:31.800 --> 00:14:33.360 I've seen many people do this. 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.419 And they start off really wanting to make this big day. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:37.840 Just this amazing time. 00:14:37.940 --> 00:14:40.639 You know, we're going to just show our love for one another. 00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:43.039 And all these kind of great romantic ideals. 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:47.920 And somewhere between the start of that and the wedding day, 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:52.839 there's like all this stress and all this tension. 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:54.740 And everyone's just fighting together. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:58.479 And, you know, they're fighting over like whether the groom should have more opinions 00:14:58.479 --> 00:15:00.019 on like the color of the invitation. 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:01.779 Should it be Tiffany blue or aqua? 00:15:02.019 --> 00:15:06.139 You know, they get kind of stressed by how much money should we give to the parents-in-law. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:07.879 You know, these are real decisions. 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:12.019 But somehow they get to the wedding day and they're so exhausted they can't even enjoy it. 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:13.279 Right? 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:15.279 Anyone seen that? 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:16.519 Even been there? 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:16.579 Yeah. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:23.019 And real decisions, what happens is we lose sight of the essential, 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:24.279 which is actually the relationship. 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:28.079 And we get wrapped up with all the little things that we've got to do. 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:30.799 And it's amazing how sometimes people say, 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:34.500 hey, we were actually happier when we had less stuff that we were kind of trying to get. 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:38.219 Because that's so much of us. 00:15:38.459 --> 00:15:38.659 Oops. 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:40.099 That's so much of us. 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:45.480 Everyday stuff of life, the urgent overtakes the important. 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:49.860 The immediate overtakes the long term. 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:52.820 And we say, this is just a special season for me. 00:15:52.899 --> 00:15:53.740 It's a special season. 00:15:53.800 --> 00:15:58.779 But you know, what happens, I see is that special season seems to get replaced by another special season. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:02.139 And distraction turns into walking into another path. 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:06.100 And that is so much what happens with our relationship with God. 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:10.500 You know, external things become essential. 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:13.159 Like, this job is essential. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:14.779 This test is essential. 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:16.519 Getting to this school is essential. 00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:19.000 And often when you look back later on, you think, why? 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:21.680 Actually, they weren't that essential. 00:16:21.800 --> 00:16:23.159 I could have got somewhere else. 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:27.039 But at the moment, they take the whole of your gaze. 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:33.699 Jesus says, Martha, one thing's necessary. 00:16:33.819 --> 00:16:35.459 You're worried about many things. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:39.519 But am I essential to you? 00:16:40.959 --> 00:16:45.579 And maybe to watermark, he would say, you're worried about many things. 00:16:46.079 --> 00:16:48.139 Am I essential to you? 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:55.019 Because it's not just the external that comes in and takes things that kind of distracts us. 00:16:55.059 --> 00:16:56.460 It's also the internal. 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:03.039 Because Martha thinks all these things are necessary because the meal was more than a meal. 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:04.400 Right? 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:06.579 She wants to be the perfect host. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:08.500 She wants to put on a good show. 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:14.519 Because if she doesn't, if there's not enough food, if it's cold, if it tastes bad, who does it reflect on? 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:16.339 Her. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:18.019 She's going to look bad. 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:23.020 She's going to feel, with all the social expectations on her, she's going to be embarrassed. 00:17:23.360 --> 00:17:25.140 It's all about her reputation. 00:17:25.560 --> 00:17:28.400 Her identity has become at stake here. 00:17:29.540 --> 00:17:31.880 Her sense of worth and value. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:38.100 Because if she makes a mistake, if she gets it wrong, she doesn't know where it's going to lead her. 00:17:39.800 --> 00:17:43.020 And you know, the weight of that pressure crushes down on her. 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:46.420 It's very interesting. 00:17:46.420 --> 00:17:51.800 There's a very interesting book called The Price of Privilege. 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:53.039 I don't know if any of you have read it. 00:17:53.039 --> 00:18:00.059 It's a book about parents and kids who've grown up incredibly privileged. 00:18:00.460 --> 00:18:03.980 And with parents who really want the best for their children. 00:18:03.980 --> 00:18:05.839 They want to be the best parents. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:10.039 And so they take them to all kinds of different things. 00:18:10.179 --> 00:18:11.939 And they try and give them the best. 00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:17.320 And what the psychologist says, she says this. 00:18:18.320 --> 00:18:25.019 Our children, to people who go to so many different activities, she says, 00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:31.119 Our children benefit more from our ability to be present than they do from being rushed off to one more activity. 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:32.680 Try to slow down. 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:39.819 It's almost always in quiet, unpressured moments that kids reach inside and expose the most delicate parts of their developing selves. 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:49.119 What she says is, many children and relationships with their parents are at this distance. 00:18:49.679 --> 00:18:50.720 And it affects the children. 00:18:50.919 --> 00:18:56.899 Because if the parenting revolves simply around endless activities, your children will miss out on your presence. 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.939 And what they need more than anything is you. 00:18:59.619 --> 00:19:00.700 That's the essential. 00:19:01.159 --> 00:19:01.859 It's you. 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:07.099 And that doesn't just relate to parenting, the human experience of parenting. 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:09.639 That relates to our relationship with Christ. 00:19:10.199 --> 00:19:19.939 If we just try and slot Christ into a ceaseless end of activity, and we don't ever say, I want just you. 00:19:21.219 --> 00:19:29.879 Then what happens, we'll never end up allowing the most delicate parts of our lives to be exposed by him and healed by him and restored by him. 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:33.600 Because he wants to bring us life and wholeness. 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:43.580 You see, when good desires, whether it's parenting, whether it's a good desire to be, we want things done well. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:45.340 We want to be a perfect partner. 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:46.800 We want to be a perfect spouse. 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.660 We want to be a perfect student. 00:19:48.820 --> 00:19:50.260 We want to be a perfect church. 00:19:50.460 --> 00:19:52.160 And we have all these good desires. 00:19:53.040 --> 00:19:57.940 But when good desires become God desires, when wants become needs, 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:01.220 when what was a secondary becomes primary, 00:20:02.360 --> 00:20:06.600 and if we place anything before God as our primary need, 00:20:06.900 --> 00:20:10.100 we'll miss Jesus, we'll end up getting stressed. 00:20:10.340 --> 00:20:12.320 And do you know who suffers when you're stressed? 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:15.180 It's not just you. 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:18.340 It's those you love who are close to you, like Mary. 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:19.279 Right? 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:25.639 Because stressed people, and I know this for myself, are not great at empathy. 00:20:26.399 --> 00:20:26.639 Right? 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:31.480 Stressed people don't give other people the benefit of the doubt. 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:36.759 Because it's like, when a man dying of thirst comes into town, 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:39.039 what he needs more than anything is water. 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:43.379 He doesn't notice the people around him because his focus is consumed by water. 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:50.100 When we feel like we have to have all these extra things which come in our lives, 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:51.980 and we miss the essential, 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:59.020 it ends up affecting the people we often love the most. 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:04.960 And Jesus says here, 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:09.240 It's not your to-do list. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:10.259 There's great. 00:21:10.340 --> 00:21:14.319 Lots of great things that you have in your heart to do. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:15.940 It's not your to-do list. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.100 It's your priority list that's the issue. 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:20.559 I don't know. 00:21:20.819 --> 00:21:22.140 There's the parable of the sower. 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:25.620 One of the most challenging parables that I think is the parable of the sower. 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:26.319 Do you know that parable? 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:29.700 It's the parable of how people respond to Jesus and his word. 00:21:30.100 --> 00:21:31.480 And there's four different kinds of people. 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:35.339 There are people who God gives his word and it just gets snatched away. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:38.240 There's people who kind of receive God's word and then afterwards, 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:43.500 they don't have a root and so the difficulties of life come in and they just kind of wither. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:45.120 But then there's a third category, 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:49.539 which is people who listen to God's word, who want God's word, 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:52.519 but then things come in and choke God's word. 00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:57.700 And that is, I think, the most frightening one of the parables 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:00.860 because I can so see myself in that. 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:05.900 And he says there, you know, when you get choked by something, 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:09.079 what happens is the life gets drained out of you 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:11.360 and it will kill you eventually. 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:15.259 And the spiritual life, Jesus is saying, 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:18.400 will be choked out of you unless you realize 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:22.880 what is truly essential and what is secondary. 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:28.020 If good things, good desires become ultimate desires, 00:22:28.540 --> 00:22:32.720 then you will find it ultimately crushes you, 00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:34.220 it stresses you out. 00:22:34.780 --> 00:22:38.860 And Jesus rebukes Martha, not because he's having a go at her, 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:42.520 because he wants her to have life and freedom. 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:45.960 So what is essential for you? 00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:47.960 What is essential for you? 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:51.639 And that's my second point, really. 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:55.500 What's your one thing? 00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:57.139 Jesus says, 00:22:58.139 --> 00:23:01.819 one thing is necessary. 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:05.519 And I want to turn our attention to Mary, 00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:09.759 not because Mary is like this ultimately amazing kind of person, 00:23:09.899 --> 00:23:14.359 because we sometimes miss what's going on with Mary 00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:16.240 because we don't get the cultural context. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.720 Mary's not just better because she had a quiet time with Jesus, okay? 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:25.399 Luke is saying in the cultural context, 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:28.119 Mary's actions were revolutionary. 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:28.359 They were revolutionary. 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:29.959 They were radical. 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:34.119 You see, Mary sat at the Lord's feet 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:37.059 and listened to his teaching, okay? 00:23:37.739 --> 00:23:43.899 That statement is not simply that Mary listened to a sermon, okay? 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:44.859 That's not what it is. 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:49.239 That phrase was used of an ideal disciple. 00:23:49.659 --> 00:23:51.179 Now, that may not sound strange to you 00:23:51.179 --> 00:23:55.179 until you realize women were not disciples of rabbis in those days. 00:23:55.619 --> 00:23:57.259 Only men were, okay? 00:23:57.259 --> 00:24:02.019 And culturally, women were meant to be in the house preparing the food. 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:05.960 And one strict rabbi called Eliezer, great guy, 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:08.259 he says, a few years after Jesus, he says, 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:12.440 better the Lord, God's word, be burned than entrust it to a woman. 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:14.559 He just likes to hang around with that kind of guy. 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:17.779 But the strange thing in this story 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:24.779 is it isn't that Martha was rushing around trying to serve everybody. 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:26.779 That was culturally expected. 00:24:27.420 --> 00:24:31.879 The strange thing is that Mary broke with all the social expectations. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:33.899 She crossed the unwritten boundary lines 00:24:33.899 --> 00:24:37.319 to sit with all the other male disciples at Jesus' feet, 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:39.379 and Jesus doesn't turn her away. 00:24:41.619 --> 00:24:45.139 Because Mary, there's a cost for Mary. 00:24:45.379 --> 00:24:46.180 Because think about it. 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:47.579 It's not that she's just lazy. 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:49.339 You know, Martha thought she was lazy. 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:50.779 No, this isn't about laziness. 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:53.799 She was surrounded by a load of guys. 00:24:53.919 --> 00:24:55.059 And knowing some of the disciples, 00:24:55.379 --> 00:24:56.939 you can imagine what they were thinking, 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:58.139 looking at her thinking, 00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.859 why is she here? 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:02.379 Like, aren't you meant to be in the kitchen? 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:03.459 Right? 00:25:03.919 --> 00:25:05.759 That's what everyone else would have been thinking. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.899 All these eyes on thinking about what's she doing there. 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:12.660 And yet, she doesn't notice any of them. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.500 She doesn't notice Martha just rushing around, 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.080 tutting at her, shouting at her. 00:25:16.580 --> 00:25:17.740 She doesn't notice any of that 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:21.460 because her eyes are fixed and enthralled with Jesus. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:25.120 She's enthralled with Jesus. 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:32.460 And you see, she takes the cost of everyone else's expectations, 00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:35.180 everyone else's pressures on her. 00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:38.320 And she's oblivious to it all 00:25:38.320 --> 00:25:41.039 because she just wants to learn from Jesus. 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:43.840 I don't know, 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:48.600 I don't know if you think about this, 00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:52.060 but we order our lives around what we love. 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:55.160 You order your life around what you love. 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:55.740 Do you know that? 00:25:56.700 --> 00:25:58.539 I mean, when you fall, 00:25:58.860 --> 00:25:59.720 and think about this, 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:02.340 and you love what you focus on. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:04.240 You love what you focus on. 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:05.000 Okay? 00:26:05.560 --> 00:26:07.259 When you fall in love with someone, 00:26:07.620 --> 00:26:09.080 you don't just take a quick look and say, 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:10.420 oh, I think I'm in love with them now. 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:11.240 Right? 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:12.880 You take a look, 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:14.080 and then you take a second look, 00:26:14.120 --> 00:26:14.620 and you think, 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:16.259 oh, let's take a third look. 00:26:16.420 --> 00:26:18.120 And then maybe you take a fourth look. 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:20.299 And then after you've looked for a while 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:22.519 at the person who is attractive to you, 00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:24.500 you kind of can't get them out of your mind. 00:26:25.160 --> 00:26:25.400 Right? 00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:27.740 And it goes with anything. 00:26:27.860 --> 00:26:29.400 Any passion that you have, 00:26:29.460 --> 00:26:31.140 when you focus on something long enough, 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:32.740 it begins to take your heart. 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:36.819 And it's interesting, 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:38.440 because when you're really busy, 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:42.759 what you love still has priority in your life. 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:43.700 Fiona and I, 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:44.900 we were dating, 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:47.759 and we used to have completely different schedules. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:49.600 We lived at opposite sides of Hong Kong, 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:52.000 and we could hardly find any time 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.480 we could ever get to see each other. 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:56.659 Except we found 30 minutes 00:26:56.659 --> 00:27:00.980 on central MTR platform at 10 o'clock at night, 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:03.159 and that was our date night. 00:27:04.659 --> 00:27:06.419 Because when you love someone, 00:27:06.419 --> 00:27:07.559 you get creative. 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:08.579 Right? 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:10.259 About your priorities. 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:12.659 And it's interesting, though. 00:27:12.859 --> 00:27:15.659 After you get married for a while, 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:17.959 and those of you who are married know this, 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:21.299 you can kind of just assume the other person's love. 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:22.539 You kind of get used to it. 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:23.279 Right? 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:24.579 And then what happens is 00:27:24.579 --> 00:27:27.880 other things can become more attractive at the time. 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:31.079 And we get distracted. 00:27:32.120 --> 00:27:34.420 My wife said to me the other day, 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:35.840 you know, 00:27:36.100 --> 00:27:39.100 you take time to be with me in the morning, 00:27:39.620 --> 00:27:43.279 but it feels like there's this clock ticking in your head. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:46.019 And soon as time's up, 00:27:46.059 --> 00:27:48.279 and you've got to get on with what you really want to do. 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:50.879 Because she knows that I'm there, 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:54.039 but I'm not really present here. 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:55.019 Right? 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:56.180 Does anyone relate to that? 00:27:56.920 --> 00:27:59.299 Now, it's not that I don't love her. 00:27:59.339 --> 00:27:59.899 It's not those things. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:03.019 But other things become distractions for me. 00:28:04.059 --> 00:28:06.039 And isn't that so true in church? 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:07.660 We can be in church. 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:08.899 We can be serving. 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:10.160 We can be reading the Bible. 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.100 We can be doing all kinds of things. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:14.300 But our heart can actually be elsewhere. 00:28:15.100 --> 00:28:15.660 We're kind of like, 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:17.519 okay, I know I've got to be here. 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:19.880 But really, 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:22.240 I want to be over there. 00:28:22.820 --> 00:28:24.820 I want to be doing these other things. 00:28:24.860 --> 00:28:26.640 Because something other than Jesus 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:28.160 has captivated our gaze. 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:33.240 And it's, 00:28:34.320 --> 00:28:35.800 I think if I'm real, 00:28:36.320 --> 00:28:38.400 I think there's a problem we all struggle with. 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:41.360 And Mary, 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:44.440 how does Mary stay focused in this moment? 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:45.400 I don't think she was perfect. 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:47.759 I'm sure she was distracted at plenty of other times. 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:52.400 How could she come to this point of saying, 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:55.500 I'm just focused on you? 00:28:58.460 --> 00:29:00.460 Well, I think because she knew something. 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:04.320 She knew that Jesus loved her. 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:09.299 She knew that she was worth something in Jesus' eyes. 00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:15.859 Martha's identity was wrapped up in trying to get valued by him and by everybody else. 00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:18.379 But Mary knew she was already loved. 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:20.259 You see, 00:29:20.399 --> 00:29:26.579 when your gaze is looking up at the one whose expectations for you are higher than you could ever meet, 00:29:26.939 --> 00:29:31.279 ever than your expectations for yourself or anyone else's expectations for you, 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:34.619 his are higher and he knows you can never meet them. 00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:36.899 And yet he still loves you. 00:29:38.420 --> 00:29:39.899 It will warm your heart. 00:29:40.899 --> 00:29:41.119 You see, 00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:42.000 Jesus is the one, 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:43.680 he's on his way to Jerusalem. 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:45.879 He's got his eyes fixed on a goal. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:46.700 And you know, 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:48.420 Satan tries to distract him. 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:49.899 Everyone tries to distract him. 00:29:50.119 --> 00:29:51.680 Peter comes to try to distract him. 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:53.259 But his eyes are on his father. 00:29:53.619 --> 00:29:55.700 And his heart was set on us. 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:59.759 He's the only one who's never been distracted. 00:30:01.100 --> 00:30:01.680 Do you get that? 00:30:01.860 --> 00:30:05.059 He's the only one who's never been distracted from what he loves. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:06.279 You see, 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:08.880 our priority list is often me, 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:10.059 the stuff I've got to do, 00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:11.559 and then maybe God down at the bottom. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.539 His priority was his father, 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:15.319 you and me, 00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:16.600 and himself at the bottom. 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:18.759 Because you see, 00:30:19.299 --> 00:30:21.660 he put himself last to such an extent, 00:30:21.660 --> 00:30:25.360 it wasn't just the glares from other people like Mary had. 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.000 It wasn't just verbal abuse. 00:30:27.139 --> 00:30:28.539 It wasn't just physical abuse. 00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:31.500 It wasn't just time and money that it cost him. 00:30:31.659 --> 00:30:34.599 It cost him his own blood for you and me, 00:30:34.699 --> 00:30:35.699 his own life. 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:38.019 He choked to death, 00:30:38.439 --> 00:30:38.979 literally, 00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:40.919 suffocating on a cross, 00:30:41.139 --> 00:30:44.059 so that your life and mine need never be choked 00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:46.740 by things which will squeeze the life out of us. 00:30:47.979 --> 00:30:50.759 He's the only one who could legitimately say to his father, 00:30:51.159 --> 00:30:51.639 Father, 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:52.839 don't you care? 00:30:52.919 --> 00:30:54.799 Because his father turned his back on him, 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.079 so that he would never turn his back on us. 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:01.019 And no matter how crazy things are in your world, 00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:03.019 no matter how many things you've got to do, 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:05.440 there's one thing you can always know. 00:31:06.419 --> 00:31:09.319 If someone dies for you, 00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:12.299 it's because they care for you passionately. 00:31:14.379 --> 00:31:16.359 Nobody has ever died for somebody 00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:18.240 if they don't care for them deeply. 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:22.099 And that is the fuel that will only ever motivate you 00:31:22.099 --> 00:31:23.220 to focus on Jesus. 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:27.180 Because unless you reflect on that, 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:29.940 and we know this if you're a Christian, 00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:33.120 but if you don't reflect on that regularly, 00:31:33.660 --> 00:31:34.140 daily, 00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:35.200 do you know what happens? 00:31:35.259 --> 00:31:36.259 Just like in marriage, 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:37.980 other stuff comes in and just, 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:39.160 you don't want it to. 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:40.720 Martha didn't want to be distracted. 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:42.380 She had a heart that wanted God. 00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:44.100 But somewhere along the line, 00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:48.220 you just get distracted from that heart that wants Christ. 00:31:49.100 --> 00:31:51.200 But Mary didn't come to Jesus to perform. 00:31:51.640 --> 00:31:52.860 She knew she was loved. 00:31:53.860 --> 00:31:55.279 And do you see how free she is? 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:59.600 Do you see how free she is from everybody else's expectations? 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:04.219 Just think of all the expectations that you live under 00:32:04.219 --> 00:32:06.459 of what you should be, 00:32:06.579 --> 00:32:08.279 of what everyone else thinks for you to be. 00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:09.500 But here, 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:11.719 Mary is free from them 00:32:11.719 --> 00:32:14.919 because her gaze is fixed on Jesus. 00:32:16.459 --> 00:32:19.319 She could lose all respect from everyone else. 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:21.019 And if she had Jesus, 00:32:21.579 --> 00:32:22.779 the pressure's gone. 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:24.959 The pressure's gone. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:30.779 John Wesley, 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:32.359 he was a famous preacher. 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:32.980 He once said, 00:32:33.059 --> 00:32:34.179 I'm too afraid of God 00:32:34.179 --> 00:32:35.459 to be afraid of people. 00:32:37.399 --> 00:32:37.839 Here, 00:32:37.919 --> 00:32:39.419 I think the story would be, 00:32:40.139 --> 00:32:41.879 I'm too captivated by Jesus 00:32:41.879 --> 00:32:43.799 to be captivated by everything else. 00:32:45.219 --> 00:32:46.919 And you know that sets you free 00:32:46.919 --> 00:32:48.240 from the burden of stress, 00:32:48.379 --> 00:32:49.939 from the burden of having to prove yourself, 00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:51.459 from the burden of finding your identity 00:32:51.459 --> 00:32:53.639 and the stuff which can crush you 00:32:53.639 --> 00:32:55.240 and stops you loving the people 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.619 that you'd really want to love. 00:32:56.619 --> 00:33:00.339 So let me finish with a couple of things. 00:33:01.639 --> 00:33:02.699 If you're a Christian, 00:33:03.419 --> 00:33:04.500 if you're not a Christian, 00:33:04.939 --> 00:33:06.379 the only way you can get freedom 00:33:06.379 --> 00:33:09.239 from expectations of other people, 00:33:09.439 --> 00:33:11.079 from the worries and anxieties, 00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:12.399 the many things, 00:33:12.679 --> 00:33:14.739 is if you have one thing which is greater. 00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:17.619 And if that one thing that is greater 00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:19.799 is not burdening you with expectations, 00:33:20.059 --> 00:33:21.539 but is longing for you to come 00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:23.439 and experience love, 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:25.460 then that, 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:27.759 if you make Christ your center, 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:29.880 that will set you free 00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:32.660 from whatever is capturing you at the moment. 00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:35.820 If you are a Christian, 00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:38.420 and for all of us, 00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:39.920 Jesus is very strong. 00:33:40.299 --> 00:33:41.600 The cure for distraction 00:33:41.600 --> 00:33:43.360 is repentance. 00:33:44.620 --> 00:33:45.380 And you know what? 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:47.580 Every day I get distracted. 00:33:48.620 --> 00:33:50.779 Every day I need to come back in repentance. 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:53.539 Martin Luther used to say, 00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:55.319 when our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 00:33:55.460 --> 00:33:55.759 repent, 00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:59.279 he intended that the entire life of believers 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:00.500 should be repentant. 00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:02.000 So just think about it. 00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:04.920 What is it that dominates your thinking? 00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:07.240 What is it? 00:34:07.879 --> 00:34:09.279 I mean, think about this. 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:11.539 What is it that I 00:34:11.539 --> 00:34:14.519 would lose sleep over, 00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:17.739 would lose sleep over, 00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:18.840 that I would 00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:20.980 lose friends over, 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:22.679 that I'd spend time 00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:23.360 and money 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:24.059 and thought 00:34:24.059 --> 00:34:25.039 and planning 00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:25.940 over, 00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:27.159 and it would cost me 00:34:27.159 --> 00:34:28.119 other opportunities, 00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:29.880 and if I got that thing, 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:31.440 all the others wouldn't matter to me? 00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:34.340 What is the one thing 00:34:34.340 --> 00:34:35.840 that if I had this, 00:34:36.019 --> 00:34:37.699 the cost of all the other stuff 00:34:37.699 --> 00:34:38.280 wouldn't matter? 00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:40.800 Would you say, 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:41.139 Jesus? 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:41.299 Jesus? 00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:44.359 Could you honestly say, 00:34:44.440 --> 00:34:44.679 Jesus? 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:48.539 Because that is what being a Christian is about. 00:34:48.719 --> 00:34:49.879 It's about coming back and saying, 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:51.000 I want you, Jesus, 00:34:51.319 --> 00:34:53.839 to be my essential in life. 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:56.619 We need people around us 00:34:56.619 --> 00:34:57.420 to help us repent. 00:34:58.759 --> 00:35:00.400 That's why we have community groups. 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:01.859 If you're not in a community group, 00:35:02.119 --> 00:35:03.420 you're going to need people who, 00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:05.500 when you're looking at the goldfish, 00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:07.599 when you're looking at the career opportunity, 00:35:07.779 --> 00:35:08.799 when you're looking at the things 00:35:08.799 --> 00:35:10.079 which are wrapping you up 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:10.920 and getting you engaged, 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:11.639 you're going to need someone 00:35:11.639 --> 00:35:12.500 who's just going to nudge you 00:35:12.500 --> 00:35:12.840 and say, 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:13.119 hey, 00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:14.639 remember what's essential, 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:17.400 and then you can worry 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:18.360 about the other stuff. 00:35:22.039 --> 00:35:22.900 Let me just finish 00:35:22.900 --> 00:35:24.079 with one practical thing, 00:35:24.539 --> 00:35:25.639 and I don't normally do this, 00:35:26.019 --> 00:35:26.880 but here is one thing 00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:27.599 I want us to do. 00:35:28.420 --> 00:35:28.740 Normally, 00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:29.220 I don't say 00:35:29.220 --> 00:35:30.480 we've got to do a lot of stuff 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:32.460 because I think doing comes out of that 00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:33.440 knowing that we're loved, 00:35:33.539 --> 00:35:34.360 but here's one thing 00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:36.619 that I think distracts us in Hong Kong 00:35:36.619 --> 00:35:37.619 more than anything else, 00:35:37.940 --> 00:35:38.280 maybe. 00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:38.380 Maybe. 00:35:38.380 --> 00:35:43.519 Anyone guess what it is? 00:35:49.099 --> 00:35:49.800 Your phone. 00:35:52.700 --> 00:35:53.599 Some of you, 00:35:53.860 --> 00:35:54.539 right now, 00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:55.240 during the sermon, 00:35:55.300 --> 00:35:56.099 have been on your phone. 00:35:57.220 --> 00:35:58.200 Anyone feeling guilty? 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:00.300 Right? 00:36:00.300 --> 00:36:02.320 Some of us, 00:36:02.620 --> 00:36:03.480 in the morning, 00:36:03.700 --> 00:36:05.780 we know we should be spending time with God, 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:06.560 but actually, 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:10.060 our phones just kind of distract us. 00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:13.300 Anyone experience that? 00:36:13.300 --> 00:36:17.120 You know, 00:36:17.700 --> 00:36:20.300 if someone, 00:36:20.600 --> 00:36:21.700 in the first thing they do 00:36:21.700 --> 00:36:22.280 in the morning, 00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:25.060 was to get out a bottle of beer 00:36:25.060 --> 00:36:26.960 and take a swig of it, 00:36:27.780 --> 00:36:30.580 or if they came into a meeting 00:36:30.580 --> 00:36:31.400 with other people 00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:32.980 and they just had to have a swig 00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:33.940 of the beer 00:36:33.940 --> 00:36:35.260 during the meeting 00:36:35.260 --> 00:36:36.320 or during church, 00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:38.019 what would you say 00:36:38.019 --> 00:36:39.080 about them? 00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:41.340 You'd say they probably 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:42.019 had an addiction, 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:42.880 right? 00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:43.759 You'd say there was 00:36:43.759 --> 00:36:44.619 a serious problem, 00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:45.159 wouldn't you? 00:36:49.539 --> 00:36:50.460 But many of us, 00:36:50.500 --> 00:36:52.079 our phone is exactly like that. 00:36:53.380 --> 00:36:53.819 Right? 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:55.900 Because 00:36:55.900 --> 00:36:58.340 we gaze 00:36:58.340 --> 00:36:59.920 on what we love 00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:00.920 and when we're distracted, 00:37:01.059 --> 00:37:01.840 we gaze on it 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:02.559 and do you know what? 00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:03.880 It takes us away 00:37:03.880 --> 00:37:04.519 from actually 00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:06.480 experiencing the love of God 00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:07.880 and so then we get wrapped up 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:08.960 with the many things 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:09.980 that we have to do. 00:37:11.259 --> 00:37:12.480 But for some of you, 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:14.380 repentance is going to look like this. 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:16.199 When you come in 00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:17.099 in this morning, 00:37:17.699 --> 00:37:18.299 anytime, 00:37:18.619 --> 00:37:19.920 you're going to turn off your phone 00:37:19.920 --> 00:37:21.079 when you come into here. 00:37:21.759 --> 00:37:22.559 For some of you, 00:37:22.659 --> 00:37:23.699 if you are like Martha 00:37:23.699 --> 00:37:24.019 and you say, 00:37:24.380 --> 00:37:25.619 I want Jesus 00:37:25.619 --> 00:37:27.599 and I know this distracts me, 00:37:27.940 --> 00:37:29.440 that is what you're going to do. 00:37:30.019 --> 00:37:30.759 Because you're going to say, 00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:32.820 I will take the cost of that 00:37:32.820 --> 00:37:34.300 because Jesus means more to me 00:37:34.300 --> 00:37:35.060 than my phone. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:36.780 Some of you, 00:37:36.900 --> 00:37:38.060 that will mean in the morning 00:37:38.060 --> 00:37:40.020 the first thing you do. 00:37:40.240 --> 00:37:40.840 At the moment, 00:37:40.920 --> 00:37:41.380 it's like, 00:37:41.420 --> 00:37:41.760 you know, 00:37:42.020 --> 00:37:42.980 it's like an addiction. 00:37:43.160 --> 00:37:43.820 You've got to have it 00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:45.580 and if you don't get your phone, 00:37:45.640 --> 00:37:46.900 it's like withdrawal symptoms. 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:47.960 Right? 00:37:48.020 --> 00:37:48.700 Anyone get that? 00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:49.780 Well, 00:37:49.820 --> 00:37:50.940 what if you replace it 00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:51.540 with actually saying, 00:37:51.640 --> 00:37:51.860 okay, 00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:53.240 I'm going to have a verse 00:37:53.240 --> 00:37:54.000 from scripture. 00:37:54.700 --> 00:37:56.060 You go to your Bible app 00:37:56.060 --> 00:37:57.540 rather than your Facebook app. 00:37:59.720 --> 00:38:00.580 Because the thing is, 00:38:00.579 --> 00:38:01.860 God is not saying, 00:38:02.460 --> 00:38:04.480 here's all the 1500 things 00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:05.279 I want you to do. 00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:05.719 He's saying, 00:38:05.799 --> 00:38:06.860 I want your heart. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:08.659 And sometimes to get your heart, 00:38:08.819 --> 00:38:10.199 you need to turn away. 00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:11.319 That's what repentance means. 00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:12.239 You need to turn 00:38:12.239 --> 00:38:13.699 deliberately away 00:38:13.699 --> 00:38:14.960 from whatever distracts you 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:15.340 and say, 00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:17.460 I'm going to turn to you. 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:21.340 Because Jesus wants to set you free 00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:22.659 from all the stress 00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:23.319 and the burdens 00:38:23.319 --> 00:38:24.840 and it's a daily thing. 00:38:25.319 --> 00:38:26.460 It's a daily thing. 00:38:26.460 --> 00:38:28.720 So what's the step 00:38:28.720 --> 00:38:29.780 that you need to take? 00:38:29.860 --> 00:38:31.079 What's distracting you? 00:38:31.340 --> 00:38:32.559 What's your one thing? 00:38:33.240 --> 00:38:35.860 Because Jesus wants to set you free 00:38:35.860 --> 00:38:38.300 so you experience his love 00:38:38.300 --> 00:38:40.440 and you experience his freedom. 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:42.280 As a church, 00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:43.460 we need that. 00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:45.420 Let me pray. 00:38:45.420 --> 00:38:49.659 In fact, 00:38:49.780 --> 00:38:50.000 if you, 00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:51.760 before we pray, 00:38:51.900 --> 00:38:52.079 if you, 00:38:52.240 --> 00:38:53.360 see on your seat, 00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:55.200 there's a card on your seat. 00:38:56.700 --> 00:38:57.960 There's a card on your seat. 00:38:57.960 --> 00:39:02.760 I want you to look at that card. 00:39:04.079 --> 00:39:05.420 It has two things on it. 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:05.880 It says, 00:39:05.980 --> 00:39:06.720 the first thing is, 00:39:06.820 --> 00:39:07.820 what is my one thing? 00:39:09.019 --> 00:39:10.599 What is the one thing at the moment 00:39:10.599 --> 00:39:13.559 that is actually so big in my focus? 00:39:14.860 --> 00:39:15.599 Maybe it's one thing 00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:16.840 which is made up of many things, 00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:18.300 but one thing which actually, 00:39:18.699 --> 00:39:20.500 this is what I'm sacrificing for. 00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:21.179 This is what I'm, 00:39:21.260 --> 00:39:22.639 I'm losing sleep over. 00:39:22.740 --> 00:39:23.340 This is what I'm, 00:39:23.340 --> 00:39:24.559 I'm actually, 00:39:24.740 --> 00:39:25.920 it's costing me things, 00:39:26.039 --> 00:39:27.940 but this is what's taking up my mind. 00:39:27.960 --> 00:39:30.220 What's my one thing? 00:39:32.059 --> 00:39:33.960 And then underneath it says, 00:39:34.500 --> 00:39:37.400 if Jesus was my one thing, 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:38.300 I would. 00:39:39.900 --> 00:39:42.000 What is one thing you're going to do 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:44.300 if you actually want Jesus? 00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:46.740 If you're actually a Christian, 00:39:47.340 --> 00:39:49.320 that's the one step that you know, 00:39:49.460 --> 00:39:51.220 I need to turn from this distraction. 00:39:51.619 --> 00:39:53.519 I need to build something into my life. 00:39:55.420 --> 00:39:57.139 And why do I want to do it? 00:39:57.460 --> 00:39:58.339 Am I going to do it 00:39:58.339 --> 00:39:59.319 because it's going to make me 00:39:59.319 --> 00:40:00.420 a perfect Christian? 00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:01.799 Or am I going to do it 00:40:01.799 --> 00:40:05.639 because I want to experience Christ's love 00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:07.500 and I want his presence. 00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:08.579 I want him. 00:40:09.819 --> 00:40:12.139 So let's just spend a minute in prayer. 00:40:12.259 --> 00:40:14.420 Maybe you just want to write on that card now. 00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:16.119 I'm going to give you two minutes 00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:17.619 to write on that card 00:40:17.619 --> 00:40:20.480 and to respond yourself to God in prayer. 00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:23.099 and then we'll continue. 00:40:23.099 --> 00:40:23.300 Okay. 00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:37.240 Okay. 00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:38.860 If you don't have a card, 00:40:39.480 --> 00:40:41.099 there are some cards here. 00:40:41.159 --> 00:40:42.420 If you could pass some back. 00:40:42.659 --> 00:40:43.860 Does anyone not have a card? 00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:46.880 If you could see where the hands are 00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:48.440 and you could just give a spare card 00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:49.019 that's around. 00:40:49.340 --> 00:40:49.900 Thank you. 00:40:52.380 --> 00:40:55.200 So just come back and look at that. 00:40:55.640 --> 00:40:56.599 What's my one thing? 00:40:56.599 --> 00:41:26.579 What's my one thing? 00:41:26.599 --> 00:41:36.119 I just want to lead you in a prayer. 00:41:41.239 --> 00:41:43.199 If you know that there are many things 00:41:43.199 --> 00:41:44.319 in your life at the moment 00:41:44.319 --> 00:41:45.900 which just wrap up your mind, 00:41:47.980 --> 00:41:49.799 just pray this in your heart with me. 00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:53.800 Father, I just... 00:41:54.940 --> 00:41:57.039 I want you. 00:42:00.280 --> 00:42:02.180 But I realize so many things 00:42:02.180 --> 00:42:03.720 come in and take my gaze. 00:42:05.519 --> 00:42:08.240 And I've focused on so many other things. 00:42:11.220 --> 00:42:12.420 And yet I know 00:42:12.420 --> 00:42:16.260 that for love to be kindled, 00:42:16.260 --> 00:42:19.480 it needs to be regularly focused on. 00:42:22.560 --> 00:42:24.000 I repent of the things 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:25.380 which have distracted me. 00:42:27.320 --> 00:42:28.800 I say that I'm busy. 00:42:29.300 --> 00:42:30.880 I say it's a special time. 00:42:33.500 --> 00:42:34.560 But actually the things 00:42:34.560 --> 00:42:36.800 that I really, really, really want to do, 00:42:36.860 --> 00:42:37.740 I'll make time. 00:42:38.880 --> 00:42:40.000 There'll be a cost. 00:42:40.360 --> 00:42:41.600 But I'll take the cost 00:42:41.600 --> 00:42:42.980 because I love those things. 00:42:42.980 --> 00:42:48.019 Lord, you want us to be present with you. 00:42:50.820 --> 00:42:51.880 And I pray, Lord, 00:42:51.940 --> 00:42:52.980 that you would help me 00:42:53.539 --> 00:42:57.280 in the midst of my craziness 00:42:57.280 --> 00:42:58.840 to stop 00:42:58.840 --> 00:43:01.440 and to say, 00:43:01.619 --> 00:43:02.900 who am I doing this for? 00:43:02.900 --> 00:43:07.240 And thank you that you love me. 00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:10.480 That my value is not found 00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:11.480 in getting all the stuff 00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:12.680 I want to get done, done. 00:43:16.460 --> 00:43:18.480 Please free me from my worries. 00:43:18.619 --> 00:43:19.700 I lay my worries 00:43:19.700 --> 00:43:21.240 and my concerns at your feet 00:43:21.240 --> 00:43:24.240 because you are good. 00:43:26.059 --> 00:43:26.920 You are loving. 00:43:28.200 --> 00:43:29.460 And I can trust you. 00:43:30.599 --> 00:43:31.559 In Jesus' name. 00:43:32.420 --> 00:43:32.700 Amen. 00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:33.300 Amen. 00:43:33.680 --> 00:43:34.440 ents