Luke 11:29-32 A Warning From Something Greater
Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 11:29-32, that’s on page 870 in the pew Bibles.
We are going to be dealing with a short but difficult passage this morning. Not that it in necessarily difficult to understand but it will cause us great difficulty if we ignore it.
You may remember from last week, the last statement of Jesus in that text when a woman in the crowd cried out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!”
That’s exactly what we are going to be dealing with this morning, hearing the Word of God and keeping it. Let’s look at our passage together.
29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Let’s pray.
So just as a point of interest before we get going, verse 28 shows what Jesus’ view on the worship of Mary is, that anyone who hears the Word of God and keeps it is better off than her. I think that point is not insignificant especially for those who struggle with Romans Catholic doctrine. I won’t go any further into it than that here but I thought that it was worth mentioning.
The key statement that Jesus makes is, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”
Jesus deals mostly in His earthly ministry with people who have heard the Word of God. The Jews are God’s covenant people, they have the Law and the Prophets, story after story of God’s faithfulness despite their constant wandering away from Him. In the Old Testament there is more than enough information to point people to faith in the coming Redeemer, the Messiah, that we now know is Jesus.
The whole Old Testament is about Jesus, His person and His work, and people’s need for Him and His saving atoning death and resurrection. It’s all there if you are willing to see it.
But the people that Jesus was dealing with, though they knew the Word of God were not willing to see it that way and if Jesus really was who He said He was then He would have to prove it by signs and wonders.
Do you really think for one second that these people would have believed even if He did give them a sign? He wasn’t the kind of Messiah they wanted, they wanted freedom from Rome not freedom from sin.
Jesus had already cast out demons, healed the sick, given sight to the blind, and voice to the mute, what else could He do to prove Himself?
Well, He did have one big sign yet to come.
29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
We sing the song, Christ the true and better Adam, Christ the true and better Isaac, Christ the true and better Moses. Christ is also the true and better Jonah.
So what do we know about Jonah? Jonah was a reluctant prophet, you can read about him in his very own book called, “Jonah.” But in summary, Jonah was called by God to go to one of Israel’s enemies, the Ninevites, known for their wickedness and violent ways, and preach repentance to them.
Jonah, instead of being faithful to the call of God went in the other direction and boarded a boat heading away from Nineveh. A violent storm kicked up and the sailors cast lots to see which of them God was mad at so that they could throw them overboard and save the ship and crew. The lot fell to Jonah and they threw him overboard and the ship was saved. Jonah, however was swallowed by a great fish and spent three days and three nights in its belly.
Here is Jonah chapter two.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Jonah then goes to Nineveh and preaches repentance to the people even though he still didn’t want to preach to them, and after he does preach to them he hopes they don’t repent, and sits on a hilltop and sulks waiting for God to punish them for not repenting. But instead they repent and turn to God for the forgiveness of their sin.
Now there’s clearly some differences between Jonah and Jesus as well as the crowd Jonah preached to and the crowd Jesus preached to.
Where Jonah was reluctant Jesus was willing. Where Jonah was a foreigner to the Ninevites, Jesus was a countryman to the Jews.
But the similarities were that Jonah and Jesus both preached repentance and faith in God. Matthew 12:39-40 says, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
John Calvin wrote, “Having spoken of the Ninevites, Christ takes occasion to show that the Scribes and others, by whom His doctrine is rejected, are worse than the Ninevites were. ‘Ungodly men,’ He says, ‘who never had heard a word of the true God, repented at the voice of an unknown and foreign person to them; while this country, which is the sanctuary of heavenly doctrine, hears not the Son of God and the Promised Redeemer.”
There is no record of Jonah telling anyone in Nineveh about his miraculous three day fish ride. If he, in fact, did not tell them the story the Ninevites repented upon his preaching alone. But even if he did tell them about it, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was still a greater miracle yet the Scribes and Pharisees still did not believe Him.
Jesus tells of the sign of Jonah, meaning His resurrection yet to come, but He also mentions the Queen of the South in verse 31.
31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
This is a reference to an account recorded in 1 Kings 10.
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba, the Queen of the South, some scholars believe this to be modern-day Yemen, a thousand miles away, travelled all that way to hear Solomon’s wisdom.
The scholars say that in Jesus’ day Solomon stood in an almost unearthly glory before the eyes of Jesus’ contemporaries. And now, says Jesus, One greater than Solomon is here. Solomon stood as a national hero and now something greater was there right in front of them but they still rejected Him.
Where the Queen of Sheba had to travel over a thousand miles to hear Solomon’s wisdom, Jesus was right there in their midst already, He came to them with more wisdom than Solomon could ever imagine. The Queen of Sheba will rise up at the judgment and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom, she listened to him but they rejected the One who is greater than Solomon.
Verse 32 says, The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Violent heathens repented while God’s covenant people hardened their hearts. Gentile Queens of the South listened to the Word of the Lord while God’s chosen people rejected it.
So what’s the point, what are we supposed to take away from this?
As Calvin wrote, “If that nation was convicted of desperate ungodliness for despising Christ while He spoke to them on earth, we are worse than all unbelievers that ever existed if the Son of God, now that He inhabits His sanctuary in heaven and addresses us with a heavenly voice, does not bring us to obey Him.”
Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts!
Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!
Amen.
What does the Bible Actually Say About Hell?
Good morning!
We are taking a detour away from the Gospel of Luke again today and Question 28 of The New City Catechism is going to be our topic of discussion for this morning.
“What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?”
It is very important to have an accurate understanding about what the Bible actually says about the answer to this question and not one that is based on tradition or outside sources such as Looney Tunes where Sylvester the Cat gets sent to Hell to be tormented by the devil portrayed by the big red Bulldog.
Unfortunately images like these have informed much of Christian tradition rather than what the Bible has to say about the destiny of those who die apart from faith in Christ. So my goal here this morning is two-fold: one, that we will get a clearer understanding of what the Bible actually says and why it’s important, and two, to magnify the grace of God based on our understanding of hell.
We are definitely going to need the Father’s help if we are going to accomplish that. Let’s pray.
So I’m curious as we get started, what do you think of when you hear the word, “hell?”
I imagine that many of you think of a place of fire and brimstone, filled with demons, and the wicked in torment, but is this what the Bible really says about it?
To complicate matters, the translators use the word, “hell,” in place of three different Greek words in the New Testament which all mean very different things.
So let’s start at the beginning with the question, what was the Old Testament understanding of what happens after death to the wicked?
The Old Testament uses the word, “Sheol,” it appears 65 times in the Old Testament, the word, “Hell,” appears zero times in the Old Testament.
Sheol is described as deep, and dark, with bars, the slain go down to it, the root word means, to ask or demand, Proverbs 30:15 says that it is never satisfied. Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines it as the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of Sheol are “the congregation of the dead” and it is the abode of the wicked dead.
The New Testament uses a Greek word that I’m sure you all have heard before for this same concept, the word, “Hades.”
In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus gave us this famous parable:
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
Now, it’s clear that Jesus didn’t intend that parable to be a definitive teaching on the nature of Hades and Paradise but rather the presence of the Gospel in the Old Testament. However, Jesus used the word, “Hades,” not, “Hell,” to describe the place where the wicked rich man was in anguish.
The word, “Hell,” is neither a Greek nor a Hebrew word, it’s not even Aramaic. According to Eastman’s Bible Dictionary, it comes from a Saxon word, “helan,” which means, to cover; hence the covered or the invisible place.
But our translators use the word, “hell,” 14 times in the New Testament. The English Standard Version that we read out of every Sunday uses the word Hades when that is what the original language says but there are still two other words translated into the word, “hell,” that we need to look at.
There is a single occurrence of the word, “tarturas,” in 2 Peter 2:4 translated into the word, “hell,” when Peter is talking about the angels who rebelled with Satan and were imprisoned with chains in gloomy darkness until judgment. The translators used the word hell to avoid any more confusion by adding the single occurrence of this angelic prison idea to this already confusing sermon.
The other 13 times the word, “hell,” is used it used for the Greek word, “gehenna,” and in most of its uses it designates the place of the lost.
But it is not just a far off metaphysical place. Don’t forget that we are not the only ones to ever receive the message of the Scriptures, and when we read the words of Jesus we have to remember that He was in a real place and talking to real people, and those people had a certain understanding of some of the things that Jesus pointed out and used as object lessons.
The word, “Gehenna,” means, the Valley of Hinnom, or, the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, and is a literal place.
The Valley of Hinnom is a deep, narrow ravine separating Mount Zion from the so-called “Hill of Evil Counsel.” It took its name from “some ancient hero, the son of Hinnom.” It is first mentioned in Joshua 15:8. It had been the place where the idolatrous Jews burned their children alive to Moloch and Baal. A particular part of the valley was called Tophet, or the “fire-stove,” where the children were burned. After the Exile, in order to show their abhorrence of the locality, the Jews made this valley the receptacle of the garbage of the city, for the destruction of which a fire was, as is supposed, kept constantly burning there.
(I have walked through this valley and even in 1997 there were rotting donkey carcasses in that nasty place.)
The Jews associated with this valley these two ideas, (1) that of the sufferings of the victims that had there been sacrificed; and (2) that of filth and corruption. It became thus to the popular mind a symbol of the abode of the wicked hereafter. It came to signify hell as the place of the wicked. “It might be shown by infinite examples that the Jews expressed hell, or the place of the damned, by this word. The word Gehenna [the Greek contraction of Hinnom] was never used in the time of Christ in any other sense than to denote the place of future punishment.”
So when Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew five and is sitting on the Mount of Olives on the East side of Jerusalem, everybody there can see the Valley of Hinnom from that spot, it’s not even a quarter of a mile away, it’s even possible that they could see and maybe even smell the smoke from the burning garbage. So when He says in Matthew 5:29-30,
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into [Gehenna]. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into [Gehenna].
When Jesus says these words He could have very well have been pointing to Gehenna, pointing to that never ending column of smoke rising from that garbage dump. Either way, He was very clear on what was in store for the wicked.
So we have Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and the final picture, the lake of fire.
The Lake of fire is also often confused with Hell just as Hell is often associated with Satan’s headquarters.
Here is what Revelation 20 has to say about the lake of fire and its purpose.
10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, (they’d been thrown in there already) and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The lake of fire is the final destination for Satan, the beast, the false prophet, not their headquarters. It is the final destination for Sheol and Hades.
It is also the final destination for all those who die and are not united to Christ by faith, the second death.
So, here we are, at the point of the sermon when we have to ask the question, “so what?”
Well, I’ll go back to the two goals for today: one, that we will get a clearer understanding of what the Bible actually says and why it’s important, and two, to magnify the grace of God based on our understanding of the final destination of those who are not united to Christ by faith.
What the Bible actually says is important. When we allow our thinking about Biblical principles to be informed only by traditions, or TV and movies, or books and articles outside of Scripture, instead of what the Bible actually says we are in danger of misunderstanding the Word of God and misapplying its truth. God’s Word is God’s words and we should measure all that we think and believe by it.
Nothing that I’ve said this morning is secret or hidden wisdom, you can read these commentaries, you can find most of this information with a Google search. But we can’t just settle for what we’ve been told, we have to know the Word of God ourselves.
Secondly, if you remember Will’s sermon from last week on the Roman Road, you’ll remember that:
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, that God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Saved from Sheol, saved from Hades, saved from Gehenna, saved from the lake of fire all of which we deserve to experience because of our sin.
But we are not only saved FROM the second death but we are saved TO a wonderful and growing, eternal relationship with God our Heavenly Father who saves us from all that by His grace through faith in Jesus for His glory.
Ephesians 2 says, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Amen.
Luke 10:38-42 Priorities
Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 10 and verse 38, that’s on page 869 in the pew Bibles. We are going to take a look at the account of Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary.
This was the same Martha and Mary that had a brother named Lazarus that lived in Bethany just outside of Jerusalem. Lazarus wasn’t mentioned here in our text, just Martha and Mary and the contrast between these two ladies has been the subject of every sermon ever preached on this text, ever.
Be like Mary, not like Martha, let’s close in prayer.
Well, let’s look at the text and see if there isn’t a bit more to it than that.
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Let’s pray.
There have been a lot of unfair and inaccurate contrasts between these two ladies.
Some say that Martha was worldly-minded, all about the things of the world with her hustling and bustling in the kitchen distracted by the worries of the world where Mary was heavenly minded, all about the Lord Jesus and His teaching, sitting at His feet.
Some say that Martha represents works-based religion where Mary represents living by faith alone.
Some say that Martha represents the “Type A” personality which is forceful and direct and is busy putting everything in straight lines and Mary is a “Type B” personality just kind of going with the flow and laid back in the living room chilling with Jesus and that’s way better.
Some say that Martha is representative of an active life where Mary represents a contemplative life, and Jesus affirms that it is far better to sit alone and consider life, the universe, and everything, not just work, work, work all the time, you don’t have to do anything, you just have to be and that’s far better.
Let’s not forget, first of all that both of these ladies were friends and disciples of Jesus, and both were trying to serve the Lord Jesus whole heartedly, they just each had their own idea as to how to do that best. For Martha it was giving and for Mary it was receiving.
It’s clear that Jesus affirms Mary’s actions over Martha’s but let’s take a look at Martha and her actions and see where she may have gone off course.
First of all, it was Martha that welcomed Jesus into her home. Martha may have been a widow or just the eldest of these three siblings, we don’t really know. Either way, this was her house.
Martha clearly wanted to present the best her household could afford to Jesus and the disciples and she was working hard to accomplish that.
I have to ask you, do you blame her? Can you blame her for being upset with Mary for just sitting around and not helping her get things done?
I can’t help but think of Martha Stewart when I read this account, and not just because of the name. I can picture her with all four burners of the stove with pots bubbling and a roast in the oven and the rolls, and doing the dishes, and who is going to fold the napkins into swans? Where is Mary? These napkins are not going to fold themselves! Somebody needs to set out the nice dishes!
And this is where Martha erred. Her first problem was not that she was working too hard, it’s that she had a bad attitude about it and tried to get Jesus to side with her.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Martha was clearly given to hospitality, her doors were wide open with welcome. But she is a great example of good things becoming bad things when they are not put in their proper place. She had become distracted and disgruntled and made more of her tasks and of herself than she ought to.
She was well-meaning in her service but her priorities were out of line and she was incorrect in her assumption about what Jesus wanted.
She assumed that Jesus would want the best that her household had to offer, and that best meant a well plated meal and an immaculate table and all the things that put your house in magazines and on HGTV.
Is that what Jesus wanted, did he want her best? Yes. Was her best her abilities? No.
Jesus Christ, Messiah, the Son of God was in her living room and she buried His instruction and teaching and presence with excessive and unnecessary preparations instead of accepting the benefit of being in His presence and hearing His Word.
But Martha is not the bad guy in this story and Mary the good guy. There is harmony to be found between the two, as Charles Wesley wrote, “Martha’s careful hands and Mary’s loving heart.”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus answered her with love and compassion, Martha, Martha… You’ve chosen hard work, and Mary has chosen rest, you are anxious and troubled about many things but there is only one thing that is necessary to rightly receive me.
So there was Martha working away in the kitchen trying her best to serve the Lord while Mary sat at His feet and listened to His teaching and Jesus said that she had chosen the good portion and He wouldn’t take it from her.
Martha was out there giving it her all, all worked up and worried about the things that didn’t really matter and certainly wouldn’t last. She was trying to give Jesus her best and thought that Mary should too, but her best wasn’t her work, or talents, or abilities, the best she had to give was her heart.
That’s what Mary chose.
The truth is that the servant of God is hungry for the Word of God where we experience the presence of God, the servant of Christ longs to hear the voice of Christ.
To put this in practical terms, the church lawn needs mowing and Martha chose to mow the lawn during the church service, she’s downstairs making lunch during the sermon! This is useless activity because it is based on improper priorities.
Listening to the Word of God must have the utmost priority, and I’m not just talking about listening to me. In fact, if you are only listening to me or Sundays you are going to starve and your walk with the Lord is going to suffer.
We have to saturate ourselves in the Word of God. Listen to sermons, listen to the Alistair Begg’s, the John Piper’s, the RC Sproul’s, the Ray Steadman’s. If you want some recommendations for good preachers to listen to or authors to read come talk to me after, I’d love to give you some.
The simple truth is that our commitment to Christ must be a priority over our achievement for Christ. As Alistair Begg put it, “Beware the trap of performance based Christianity.”
We are often tempted to get so busy doing for Christ that we neglect being with Christ.
Jesus said in John 15:4-5, a chapter all about this subject,
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
There is certainly nothing wrong with “doing for Christ,” we are all called to serve Him and there is certainly a lot of work to do, but our service to Christ must come after our devotion to Christ, our time in His Word and in prayer, our time hearing good preaching and reading good books.
We have to fill the buckets of our hearts with the Word of God so when we are asked we have something good to pour out.
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Mary is not the hero of this story, Jesus is.
Choose the good portion and fill your heart with the Word of the Lord.
Amen.