00:02:19,367 S1: Thank you. Hannah. That was lovely. Good morning to all of you. Uh, mostly most of you are on the live stream. We have a few people here with us this morning. It's kind of a throwback to different times. Um, I just want to make a few announcements before we begin our worship together. Um, if you are online, you can pull up, um, the front page of our website, and it says Sunday Bulletin and the Order of Worships there for you. You can follow along in the service. The hymns are in there and the songs so you can sing along. We encourage you to sing with gusto, as we're going to do here together. Um, we're glad you can participate and learn, and we can grow together in this unique way when we're apart. We're very hopeful that all the snow will be gone next week so that we can be together. And we we definitely miss you. Um, we want to let you know a few announcements. Uh, just to highlight, um, there will be no college age meeting tonight. Um, so that is, um, not not happening tonight. We'll be starting up new Sunday school classes. You can read about, uh. And in two weeks, we begin lent with our Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 on February 18th. Um, and that will be a wonderful beginning to our season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Um, please. Also, we would ask for prayer for our middle school students who are going to be away next weekend at the White Out retreat, which happens, um, over the weekend. So Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So be praying for them. And then we've included, uh, the all church survey and the announcements. And if you haven't had time to fill this out, please do. Um, we did one about 20 years ago, so it's it's probably time to do another one. And also we're planning to have some guided conversations based on the information that we gather. Um, just to talk together and drill down more deeply into the heart of our congregation and to hear from each other. Um, and so we're excited about that. Um, but it will be really helpful if we have a lot of raw material and data that we can share with you. If you do need prayer today, you can click on Sunday Prayer on the front page of the website and share your prayer concern, and we'll follow up with you there. Um, also, if you're new and you found us this morning, you can go right to the front page and click on the yellow connection card and share whatever information you'd like. And we can follow up with you as well. Uh, we're glad that you're with us. Um, so that's it in terms of announcements this morning. Uh, We're glad that you're with us. Let's take a moment to prepare our hearts to invite God to meet with us this morning. 00:06:19,567 S1: Please stand and let's join you in the call to worship this morning. Taken from Isaiah 55, verses one and two. Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money come by and eat. Come by wine and milk, without money and without cost. Why spend money and what is not bread? And your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen. Listen to me and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Now let's join together in hymn number 43. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. 00:07:14,667 S1: To. 00:07:25,968 S2: Pray to the Lord. To the glory. 00:07:35,167 S2: Of my soul. Praising you are helpful to us on. 00:07:47,868 S2: How to Is that? 00:07:52,601 S2: Who you are. 00:08:00,601 S2: Praise the Lord 00:08:04,567 S2: is with you. With. 00:08:11,200 S2: The. 00:08:13,567 S2: Rain is so. And we are saved. 00:08:21,501 S2: See how we are. 00:08:28,701 S2: In the. 00:08:36,300 S2: Race to the cross. Are you? 00:08:45,868 S2: Sure it is. You never see me until. 00:08:55,801 S2: I. 00:09:01,767 S2: Am. 00:09:12,167 S2: I am the Lord. 00:09:23,167 S2: And my. 00:09:35,567 S2: Soul. 00:09:54,400 S3: Amen. Let us pray together. Gracious God, we thank you for another day with the beautiful snow out and just looking at your creation that just declares your mighty works. Lord, we gather together as your people, as the Body of Christ, to sing praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. So we gather this morning to worship you. Though we're separated by distance, we're unified under one Lord, one spirit, and one faith. So, Lord, we worship you, for you are not a God that is bound by space and time, but you are the God over all the universe. You are a God who is transcendent of space and time. You call people from all over the world, from every tribe, tongue and nation to yourself across time. Lord, from the beginning of creation to now, you are calling people back to yourself. And Lord, we worship you, for you are not a God who is bound by our circumstances. You are a God who transcends. You are all powerful, yet you are God who is close. A God who meets us, where we are at. A God who stepped into creation. That we might know you. That we might find salvation in you. God, we confess that we can go through our lives, the busyness, the many things that just weigh down on our hearts. We can go through our lives without thinking that you are there with us. We confess that we often fall into this perception that you are a distant God. That you are a God that we only meet on Sundays or in specific times, but instead, Lord, help us to be reminded that you are a God who is with us always. You give us this promise that you will be with us to the end of the age. Every moment you are close to the broken heart and you are with us when we struggle. You are with us in our triumphs, Lord. So, Lord, as we gather here this morning to worship you, we pray that you would be honored in this service. May everything that is said, the Scripture read those prayers lifted up. Lord, the preaching of your word. The songs that we sing may all bring glory to your name and your name alone, for you are worthy. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Please join us in our next song of worship. We fall down. 00:12:53,467 S4: We fall down. We lay our crowns at the feet. 00:13:03,000 S4: Of Jesus. 00:13:06,767 S4: The greatness of his mercy and love at the feet. 00:13:16,400 S4: Of Jesus 00:13:19,767 S4: Christ, Lord only. 00:13:25,868 S4: We cry. Holy, holy, holy, holy. 00:13:34,601 S2: Holy, holy. 00:13:37,601 S4: Holy is the land. 00:13:48,267 S4: We fall down. We lay our ground at the feet. 00:13:57,567 S4: Of Jesus. 00:14:01,300 S4: The greatness of your mercy and love. At the feet 00:14:10,968 S4: of Jesus 00:14:14,167 S4: Christ. Holy, holy, holy. 00:14:22,000 S4: Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy is the way we cry. Holy, holy, holy we cry Holy, holy, holy. We cry. Holy, holy, holy is the lamb. 00:15:07,601 S5: He is holy. 00:15:09,000 S1: You may be seated. And children, we invite you to listen in as Doctor Story shares the children's message. 00:15:17,467 S6: That's right. Hello. 00:15:20,000 S7: You know. Good morning. I can't see you through the camera, but I know you're there. So children, gather around. Listen in. This message is for you. So each week we've been talking about some very ancient and old stories about God and how he preserved a special group of people called, sometimes called the Chosen People. Right. God's people. And we've been talking about people like Abraham and his son Isaac. Now, how we're coming to the next generation. And that's Jacob. So maybe you can repeat after me. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 00:15:58,567 S2: Jacob. 00:15:59,367 S6: That's right. 00:15:59,968 S7: It rolls off the tongue. Okay, now, before we begin, let's not forget now that Jesus with Jesus, now we're brought into that same family of God. Right. It doesn't matter who our great grandparents were or what town or country we came from. We are actually part of God's big family if we trust in Jesus. And this is a very important thing to remember. Okay, well, let's take. 00:16:29,267 S6: A look. 00:16:29,667 S7: I did bring my mystery box right here. Let's see what we might have inside here today. Oh, boy. What? How did that get in there? What is this? It is a pillow. What do you do with a pillow? 00:16:49,501 S7: Take a nap. Right. Take a rest. Um, well, our Bible story today is about Jacob, who is the grandson of Abraham. He was having some trouble with his brother and his twin brother. He ran away into the wilderness, the middle of nowhere. Really? He ran away. And it says in Genesis 28 that Jacob was tired and fell asleep using a rock as a pillow. Now, do you think that was very comfortable? Probably not. Um, so anyway, he had he did fall asleep. He had an amazing dream of a ladder or a stairway going between earth and heaven and angels going up and down on this ladder. And he. And above it stood the Lord. And the Lord said this. I'll read it to you. It says, the Lord said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants this land, and they will be like the dust of the earth. All the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you and your people. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised. Wow! I have had dreams, but I've never had a dream like that. I must be honest now. Jacob woke up and he said, surely the Lord was here and I was not aware of it. Oh awesome is this place I'm the word. The Bible actually translates it. What he said is awesome. I think that's pretty cool. Anyway, he took the stone that he used as a pillow and set it up as a marker and poured ceremonial oil on it, and he called the place Beth El, which means House of God. So indeed, God's promise to Jacob did come true and his offspring did become many people. You may have heard of the 12 tribes of Israel. Have you heard of that? Those were named after Jacob's sons. For us, it's amazing to realize that Jesus came from one of those tribes, the tribe of Judah. And it's through Jesus that were truly blessed and welcomed into the family of God. Now, finally, do you think maybe that God is also watching over you, just like with Jacob? Yes, that's another important message. God is watching over us even when we're not aware of it. Just like Jacob. Okay, let's pray together. Loving God. Thank you for watching out for me. 00:19:28,868 S7: Thank you for adopting us into your family. 00:19:34,267 S7: Through Jesus, your son. Amen. Thank you very much, children. Have a great day. 00:19:47,767 S3: Our scripture reading this morning comes from Psalm chapter 16. You could find it in the worship folder. 00:19:56,367 S3: Keep me safe, my God. For in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, you are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing. I say of the holy people who are in the land. They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight. Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods, or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup. You make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord who counsels me. Even at night. My heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. This is the word of the Lord. Please join us in our next hymn, hymn number 317. Blessed assurance Jesus is mine and you can find that in the online worship folder. 00:22:12,200 S2: I. 00:22:25,000 S2: See? 00:22:29,000 S2: All. 00:22:40,701 S2: Of. 00:22:46,467 S2: Us. 00:24:19,667 S1: You may be seated. And let's join together in prayer. 00:24:25,567 S1: Oh, God. We come to you this morning. We thank you for your presence with us. 00:24:32,467 S1: Most of us are not able to be together this morning. But you are present with us as your people. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your character, your guidance, your greatness. It's our honor to give you praise this morning and every day. We pray that our hearts and our lives will be oriented towards praising you, towards lifting up the name that has rescued us, the name of Jesus, the one who saved us. The one who's called us his own. Make us more like you in all that we think and say and do. We pray that we'd be a prayerful people, being concerned with the needs of the world and our neighbors. We pray that we'd be a Bible people reading daily, reflecting and applying your word and truth to our lives, to our choices, to our convictions. Lord, we want it to shape all that we are. And we ask for your wisdom in having Scripture inform our lives. Let us be a people of growing faith, trusting and obeying you, relying on your spirit, and believing the good news more and more each day. We ask that we'd be a connected body. Your church, Holy Spirit, fill us. Make us more aware of one another, more concern for one another. More willing to serve one another. Let us love each other as you've loved us. Help us to support and encourage each other to love and to godliness day by day. Lord, this would reflect your spirit in our midst. And so we ask that we would shine, that we would illuminate the world by our actions towards one another. Help us to be a people of moral conviction and moral action. We pray for wisdom to know what the right thing to do is, and then the courage and strength to do it. We thank you this morning that you've given us gifts to strengthen and build up your church. Remind us of this blessing. Remind us of this call as we rely on you. Lord, help us chart a course together that makes disciples of Jesus from all nations. Lord, you've called people from every corner of this globe to be faithful to you, and we are a part of that call. We ask that our church would be welcoming to all kinds of people, and that we would grow in our confidence to share the good news with them. Even now, Lord, as we're praying, would you bring people to mind to be praying for, to be sharing the good news, to be inviting to, to learn and grow and understand your way? For our newer Christian brothers and sisters, Lord, protect them and strengthen them in faith. For those who are burdened and emotionally spent. Lonely or depressed. Lift their eyes. Lift their eyes, Lord. To see Jesus. To see the Savior. And help us to walk alongside them. To help bear that weight. For our missionaries and Christian brothers and sisters around the world, we pray for godly character, for strength to maintain their witness and wisdom, to know how best to reach the peoples to whom they are called. Be with all those in our church who are hurting physically, recovering from surgeries, dealing with poor health. Those are in the hospital. Lord, would you bring healing and wholeness to them? Above all, Lord, remind them that you are the God who is with them. You've never left and you love them and they are secure with you. Strengthen them in this truth, Lord, that no matter what they face, you are a God who is for them. We pray, Lord, that you would bless Ali as he comes to preach. Thank you for his preparation. Would you use his words from your word by your Spirit's power to shape our hearts, to strengthen us, to follow after Jesus? Give him courage. Give him boldness. Give him your love and strength. Fill us with your spirit, Lord. Chasten us when we sin and live in our times of devotion. And open our eyes to see the work you have for us. We come to you with all that we are asking us that. Asking that you would give us all that you are. For your name's sake. We pray. Amen. Amen. 00:29:06,767 S8: Good morning. Please have your Bibles open to Luke chapter ten. I'll give you a moment if you're at home to scramble around the house, find the Bible. Have it open in front of you. For those of you with us. There's Bibles in the pews. We're at Luke chapter ten. Well, maybe as you're off trying to find a Bible. Listen to this story I want to tell you about the story of how I proposed to Meg. I was about ten years ago. I purchased the most perfect ring. It was an antique. Over a hundred years old. It had these beautiful sapphires on it. I put it in this wonderful box. It was packaged nicely. Had it in my pocket, in my jacket. And I had prepared a picnic. A perfect picnic on the top of Mount Alma. Now, before you get too excited, it's more like a hill than a mountain. But it's called Mount Alma. At the top of this hill was this beautiful view of the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. And so I took Meg to this mountain hill and we walk up to the top. And as we're getting to the top, Meg, she takes in the Perfectly arranged picnic. And the view? It's stunning. She turns around. There I am, down on one knee. I prepared this wonderful speech and I get out the ring. This box. I opened the box. It was gone. The ring wasn't there. 00:30:34,767 S8: I'd prepared. Everything was perfect. And yet I've forgotten the most important thing. Now, that's not entirely true. I didn't forget the ring. But I tell the story this way as an illustration. As we follow Jesus, we cannot miss the treasure, cannot miss what is most important. 00:31:00,400 S8: Perhaps some of us are carrying around empty boxes. 00:31:07,167 S8: As we come to Luke chapter ten, we're at verse 38 and we're introduced to Martha and Mary. These are two sisters, not Mary, Jesus's mother, and a different woman. Martha and Mary were told in Luke, in John's Gospel in chapter 11 that they lived in a city. A little town called Bethany. Which is strange, because why would Luke have this account of Mary and Martha at this point in his gospel? Because remember, Luke's telling the story of how Jesus has set his face to Jerusalem, and the disciples are following him on the way. Now Bethany is much closer to Jerusalem. You wouldn't expect him to get here yet. So why? Why this account? This true account? Why is Luke put it here? 00:31:52,868 S8: Well, I think our context gives us some clues. If we glance back to what's just come. Jesus has told the parable of the Good Samaritan, and that begins because a lawyer had come to Jesus and asked, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? This is verse 26. Jesus said to him, what is written in the law? How do you read it? And the lawyer answered, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said to him, you've answered correctly, do this, and you will live. But desiring to justify himself to Jesus, the lawyer asked, and who is my neighbor? And that then leads to Jesus telling the story, the parable of the Good Samaritan. And not too long ago, Pastor Jeff, I preached a sermon on this parable. We were going through a series on stories Jesus tells us, and I encourage you to go back and watch it. Well, Jesus tells this story of who is my neighbor. And then at the end of it, Jesus says to go and do likewise. So this is love of neighbor. But what isn't address is that first part the love of God. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. at the end of this passage, Jesus says, go and do likewise. And then there's a connection by the words, verse 38, then, then as they were going. 00:33:24,868 S8: And so what we're going to see this morning is that our going must stem or flow from our listening. Our love of neighbor flows from our love of God. The one thing, the treasure. Everything else comes from this. So let's read our passage this morning, Luke chapter ten, verse 38. You've had enough time to go find your Bible, so you've got it in front of you. Chapter ten, verse 38. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 00:34:03,701 S8: And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to his word. 00:34:14,000 S8: 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. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. This is God's word. 00:34:55,167 S8: Well, I have two parts to the sermon this morning. What Martha missed and what Mary models. What Martha missed and what Mary models. Remember. We're asking this question of what does it mean to follow Jesus as we consider for ourselves following Jesus? Well, let's consider what Martha missed. Well, we're told, verse 38, Martha is the one who welcomes Jesus into the house. Isn't that interesting? She's the one. Martha is the one who receives him. At first, she's the one who welcomes him in. Imagine her at the door of her house as she sees Jesus. She's the one who says, come in. She's smiling, beaming that this Jesus would come and be in her house. 00:35:43,467 S8: But as Jesus comes in, she quickly turns away. He says, Luke says. But Martha was distracted. She'd been pulled away from Jesus. You imagine her going into the kitchen, turning on the oven, going out into the yard, collecting the eggs, chasing the goat, finding a broom, sweeping up, going back into the house, kneading the dough, baking the bread, doing all these things. But she'd forgotten the one that she had welcomed in. She was distracted. Pulled away. 00:36:15,367 S8: And said she was distracted with much. That is then repeated in verse 41 as Jesus is speaking to Martha's answering her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled with much. 00:36:35,067 S8: Anxious and troubled. She's holding in her hands too much. She's holding on. She's trying to cling on to all the things that she's doing. 00:36:47,267 S8: And she's distracted. Many of us know the burden of carrying. The anxiety of more than what we have in our control. We're worried and concerned and anxious about too much than what we're actually called to hold. 00:37:07,601 S8: Like a waiter. Imagine carrying around plates. You know, they stack them all up and running out to serve. 00:37:17,000 S8: Distracted with much. I wonder if you're distracted this morning. 00:37:22,567 S8: The anxious and troubled this morning with much. 00:37:28,167 S8: This picture of holding too much. Perhaps we could use the words chasing perfection. Holding on to this perfect vision. This. This great vision of a life that we're hoping for. Maybe in your work that you're anxious and trouble because you have this picture of perfection that you're driven by. Or maybe for your children, consumed by sports and co-curricular, trying to get the perfect scholarship into the perfect college, to find the perfect partner for the perfect work in life. And we have this picture of perfection. We're holding on and we're anxious and we're troubled because we're holding on to this. We've forgotten the one thing. 00:38:10,567 S8: Maybe for those in ministry, if you're serving. 00:38:17,000 S8: We're holding on to so much that we're on the brink of burnout. 00:38:26,901 S8: We've forgotten the one thing we've distracted pulled away. 00:38:35,901 S8: Earlier in Luke chapter eight, Jesus told a story of a farmer scattering his seed on on soils. And the third type of soil is the soil with the thorns. We're told that the seed that is the Word of God that that sprouts at first. Like Martha welcoming Jesus in. But the cares of this life, the same word that Jesus says of Martha, anxious chokes, that life Chokes the word. 00:39:08,868 S8: And then this fear and anxiety and trouble would then breed resentment and breed bitterness. Look at how Martha reacts. Verse 40. Martha distracted with much serving. She went up to Jesus and said, Lord, do you not care? He the accusation there? Do you not care? Like the older brother? And the parable of the prodigal son to the father? Don't you care? Do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her. Tell her then to help me see this fear and this control. And holding too much has bred a bitterness and a resentment. 00:39:47,200 S8: When things are out of our control, as we're holding too much and we can't contain our survival instincts kick in and we bite and we kick and we thrash. 00:40:00,100 S8: What Martha missed. Perhaps we could take a moment just to do diagnostics of our heart. Is there bitterness? Are we carrying any resentment this morning? 00:40:13,367 S8: Are our hearts just distracted? Pulled away? Are we holding on to much and are anxious and troubled? 00:40:25,267 S8: Might it be that we've missed something. That we've neglected the one thing? What Martha missed in following Jesus. Now, I need to say at this point that service wasn't the issue that Martha, that her service, her serving wasn't the problem. I mean, Jesus has just told us a parable and told us, go and do likewise. Who say the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve? Service is a key part of what does it mean to follow Jesus? And as we're going to see in the coming weeks, Aspects of following Jesus involves us doing primarily our love of neighbor. That wasn't the problem though. 00:41:12,501 S8: The problem was that for Martha, it was an empty box. She'd left the treasure behind. 00:41:20,367 S8: What Martha missed. 00:41:25,067 S8: Which brings us to the second part. What Mary models for thinking about. What does it mean for us to follow Jesus? Let's look at Mary and Mary as our model this morning. What Mary models. We've been bustling and busy with Martha. Let's come back in the room and let's. Let's find Jesus. There he is. And there's Mary sitting at his feet. 00:41:48,901 S8: That's our first thing I want us to see is of a discipleship, of following. Jesus is sitting at the Lord's feet. Verse 39 Martha had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet. Now, this is interesting. Luke uses the same language. Later on in in the book of acts to describe Paul, who sat at the feet of Gamaliel. It was a way of describing discipleship or apprenticeship. Or a learner before a rabbi, a teacher. But in ancient culture. To sit at the feet of a teacher, to be a learner, a disciple was the privilege of the man. 00:42:32,267 S8: But is typical of Luke's gospel and is true of Jesus, is that discipleship would be for anyone. And Jesus would call everyone. 00:42:45,267 S8: Discipleship for anyone, including you. 00:42:51,267 S8: Discipleship for anyone. But then we're told she sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. She was listening to his word. 00:43:06,067 S8: Well, let's jump back to chapter eight. A few weeks ago. Remember your hiking boots? We climbed a mountain and we beheld the glory of Jesus, transfigured the glory of God shining in his face. And the cloud that surrounded. And the voice of God that boomed. This is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him. 00:43:32,400 S8: Listen to him. That Jesus was the Son of God. The one to worship. The one as we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Him. And so a few chapters later, we're in the room. There's Mary sitting at his feet. She's doing it. She gets it. Listening to his word. 00:43:56,501 S8: Listening to the word or hearing the word then is used by Luke as as shorthand for a response to the good news, to the gospel and acts, chapter four, verse four. Many would hear the word or listen to the word, and believed it was a posture of of a response of faith. As Mary recognized Jesus as her Lord. She would respond and be with him to receive him, receive his word. And so following Jesus is discipleship for anyone listening to him as a response of of faith, the one who is our God. And we'll come back in a few minutes to what does it mean to listen, to hear his voice? But before that, we want to move forward to a third aspect of discipleship, of following him is choosing the good portion. Verse 41 but the Lord answered, Martha, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Verse 42. But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion. She's chosen the one thing. 00:45:15,968 S8: The one thing that matters. Everything else. Doesn't matter if we don't have this piece. The treasure we're carrying. Empty boxes. If we don't have this good thing. 00:45:30,868 S8: Love of neighbor only makes sense. In love of the Lord. The first command that we would love the Lord our God worship him alone. Mary had chosen the one thing we read in Psalm 16. This picture of a portion of devotion, of of oneness. Psalm 16, verse five. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. 00:45:59,367 S8: The psalmist said earlier, David said, I have no good apart from you. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be shaken. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. 00:46:19,300 S8: See, this was the good portion, the one thing that the Lord would be center in her heart to love the Lord her God. She got it. And everything else was to flow from this love. Everything else came after or through overflows from love of God, worship of God. So sitting at the Lord's feet, discipleship for everyone, listening to his word. A response of faith and worship. Choosing the good portion. Our devoted love, our God is our center. And the last point is the blessed assurance. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. The blessed assurance that cannot be taken. If you remember, if you were listening last week, one of my points was the blessed assurance, and I don't mind repeating it. Blessed assurance last week was that your names are written in heaven. Here the assurance is that it cannot be taken away. This love of God, it won't be taken from her. We sung before blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine heir of salvation. These are the truths for us if you believe in Jesus. Air of salvation. Purchase of God, born of his spirit. Washed in his blood. Do you know this assurance this morning? And then the third verse. Listen. Imagine Mary singing this perfect submission. All is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting. Looking above. Filled with his goodness. Lost in his love. This blessed assurance this morning. If you're. If you're holding on to fear and anxiety and trouble. If you're. If our hearts are distracted. If we're troubled. We need to come back to this truth. This assurance that the grace of our Lord Jesus is for us. It cannot be taken that we are secure in him. And no matter what happens in this world, no matter if we're the weight of dropping our plates everywhere. The Lord's love for us is secure, and that cannot be taken, and that our devotion to him will not be rejected and he receives us. This is the blessed assurance that grounds us, and that from this then overflows our love of neighbor that overflows our service. It comes from this assurance, from his grace, from his truth, from his love. And so we respond in love for Him and His assurance. And that moves us to love, that moves us to discipleship. That's what drives our service. 00:49:17,767 S8: See, Mary models for us what it means to follow Jesus. 00:49:25,000 S8: What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean for us to gather and say what we love Jesus. We follow him. Well, Mary is our model as we listen to him, that he is the one thing, and that from him comes everything else. 00:49:42,667 S8: To love and worship him. To listen and obey. 00:49:48,100 S8: Well, before I conclude, I want to address some questions because there remain some concerns and maybe you share these. Question number one. 00:50:01,167 S8: I can't just let go of concerns. Who else is going to do what Martha is doing? Who's going to do what? You know, Martha gets a bad rap. She's the one serving. Are we expected to just take up a contemplative life and just sit and read our Bibles 24 over seven? I mean, jobs need to be done. 00:50:25,868 S8: And that's a genuine concern. And how I would respond is I don't think Jesus is neglecting Martha's service and their real concerns. But the problem with holding much and the problem with neglecting the one see our service. Remember, flows from our love and our trust with Jesus at our center. If we're living for or living from any other picture. Remember I had that the chasing perfection for living for any other picture of life and security and value. Those things are only going to consume us, but our service is driven and motivated and moved by the assurance, the blessed assurance, and our love for him. Our second question or concern? What if I don't love him? 00:51:19,701 S8: Maybe you're here this morning and and and you're listening. You think what you said. Love the Lord your God. I don't love him. Just don't feel it right now. 00:51:37,601 S8: Well, my encouragement to you, firstly. 00:51:45,501 S8: Is to consider ways that maybe other things have taken the place of that love. 00:51:52,100 S8: Loving other things might be sapping our devotion and love. For the one thing might be distracted, might be pulled away. And maybe we're not spending time with God. And it's hard to love God if we're not spending time with him. 00:52:09,000 S8: But also if we don't love him. I encourage you to meditate, to dwell firstly on our own sinfulness, our need for God. We fall woefully short of him again, dwelling on this, that that we have sinned and fallen short of his glory. And yet God, in his infinite grace and love, has met us in our sin, in our depravity, in our brokenness. If we don't love him, I encourage you to remember your need and remember his grace. 00:52:49,100 S8: And last question or concern? Maybe you've asked this. What if I can't hear him? You know I can't hear God's voice. 00:53:03,267 S8: You know, Mary sat at the Lord's feet. She could listen to him hear it. How we meant to listen to God. How? What does that look like for our discipleship? To. To hear God's voice. 00:53:22,567 S8: Well, we must remember. Firstly, God is speaking. And it might be that there's distractions. There might be that there's things in our way that are drowning out God's voice. And we need to stop and be attentive. What are the distractions that might be hindering you from hearing his voice because he is speaking? 00:53:43,300 S8: But secondly, God's primary means of communication. What he is purposed to speak to us, we're told in Hebrews one. In former times he spoke through the prophets, but now he has spoken to us through His son. And how do we know his son? Will we have the apostle's witness? We have the Bible, the Holy Scriptures that we're told God has breathed through. He is spoken through His word. And so we recognize his voice. We hear his voice by knowing His word, knowing the scriptures, reading the scriptures, absorbing His word, memorizing them, studying them. We hear God speak through the Bible. And so, as a way of conclusion, my application for you is are you in a small group, a group of other believers that you can surround yourself with the Word of God at the center and hearing his voice, talking about it, studying it? Maybe you could join the men's ministry or the women's ministry that have Bible studies throughout the week. We're a group that's our discipleship groups or our small groups. Are you in a group studying the word, being in community to hear God's voice through His word? If not, we'd love to hear from you and help you find that community. Secondly, is it part of your own rhythm and practice to open God's Word daily? Perhaps first thing in the morning, maybe with breakfast at dinner time, at bed, whenever it is at lunchtime on the road, maybe listening, listening to it. However it is that you can find a way of rhythm and a practice in your life, like Mary, to devote yourselves, to listen to him, to open his word. Would we make that part of our rhythm and and ask friends, if we don't know how to do that? But let's be devoted to our Lord, keeping the one thing to hear his voice, that he would speak to us And remembering. Remembering the blessed assurance that the Lord is for us and our service and our even our Bible reading isn't what justifies us. It's that the Lord Jesus has come to us and he invites us in. Love the Lord your God with all your soul and mind and strength, for no one else is worthy. Let us love our neighbors as overflow from our love for him. Let's pray. 00:56:17,667 S8: Lord God, we, we do humble ourselves and realize that so often we are like Martha and anxious and troubled with many things. Lord, we've neglected the one thing we ask your forgiveness. We thank you for your mercy and your grace and your kindness that you welcome us in, that you remind us gently. You are full of grace and love and truth and love. We long to listen to you and I pray refresh us, Lord, in our love for you, that we might worship you, for you alone are worthy. 00:56:59,100 S8: And so, as we conclude in a moment to sing, speak, O Lord, I want to pray these words. Speak, O Lord, as we come to you to receive the food of your holy Word. Take your truth. Plant it deep in us shape and fashion us in your likeness. That the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith. Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes for your glory. Speak, O Lord, renew our minds. Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us. Truths unchanged from the dawn of time that will echo down through eternity. And by grace. Will stand on your promises. And by faith will walk as you walk with us. Speak, O Lord, to your church is built, and the earth is filled with your glory. And we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I do hope you have these words in front of you as we're going to sing and respond like Mary. We call to listen to him, but we pray to him. Speak, O Lord, speak, O Lord. Well, let's stand and let's sing. 00:58:26,567 S9: And. 00:58:31,767 S4: Speak. Lord, as we come to you to receive the food of your Holy Word, take your truth planted deep in us shape and set us in your love. Let that the light of Christ, my PC today. In our acts of love. In our deeds of faith. Speak. Go and fulfill us for our purposes. 00:59:28,167 S4: For your glory. 00:59:40,100 S4: Teach us. Lord, follow me is holy and true. You may. 00:59:55,100 S4: Test us and our eyes into. In the rain 01:00:05,501 S4: of your pure. 01:00:09,167 S4: Love. Our faith to Christ cause our eyes to see your majestic love. And for it in words. Love that can never fail. Let the truth. Pray over us. 01:00:47,868 S4: Sprinkle the Lord and renew our minds. Help us grasp the heights of your faith. I church unchanged from the dawn of time. That will land down through winter. 01:01:17,300 S4: And by grace will stand on your cross. 01:01:25,200 S4: And by faith will walk as you walk in When I speak. Go tell your church is bare and the earth is filled with your glory. 01:01:48,000 S4: And my grace will stand on your ground. This is my faith. 01:01:59,701 S4: As you walk with. 01:02:04,767 S4: Me, God and your church is hell. And the earth is filled with your glory. 01:02:23,067 S8: The reminder that if you need prayer this morning, that we have a link on our website that you can click and we'd love to hear and pray for you. Or please feel free to reach out. But if you're anxious this morning, if you're troubled, the Lord is at hand. 01:02:43,067 S8: And hear now the benediction, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. May it guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And so may the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit remain with you all. Amen. 01:03:03,367 S10: Amen. Amen.