Abiding In His Presence

Temple Baptist Church - 6-23-2019

Luke 10:38-42

Introduction:  John 15:7-9  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  (8)  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  (9)  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

 A.  I have been preaching for a couple of weeks on the subject of “Abiding In Christ.”  Being saved and abiding in Christ are two separate things.

1.  Salvation is in unconditional covenant where a person comes to Christ in repentance and faith then is the recipient of Eternal Life!

2.  Abiding in Christ is a conditional covenant whereby a saved man or woman remains constant in Christ. 

“For to me to live is Christ!” 

“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear.” 

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

B.  The home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.  This home and family were very special to our Lord.  Not that the Lord loves some more than others, but some love the Lord more than others.  Our Lord frequented this home.

C.  What a testimony the Lord’s friend, Lazarus, had.  Many Jews came to see the one whom Jesus raised from the dead in in John, chapter 12, the religious crowd conspired to put Lazarus to death because many believed on Christ because of him.

D.  In our text, we find our Lord in their home. 

1.  TWO VERY IMPORTANT things are mentioned here, Serving andSitting, Cumbered and Contentment.  These two conditions are equally important and should go hand-in-hand!

2.  Martha is cumbered in her serving while Mary is content in her sitting!  Thus, we find the children of God in our day.

E.  Are we cumbered in our serving or content in our sitting?

F.  In verse 38, Martha “received him into her house.”  Martha was a Good woman!  Martha was a Godly woman!  Martha Loved the Lord!  As with Peter, we often tend to look at Martha in a wrong way or in a bad light.  She made sure that the Lord had every comfort when He came into her home.  She made sure that His every need was met when He came for a visit.  She loved her Lord! 

1.  But Martha was “cumbered ABOUT much serving.”  Notice with me the wording: “Cumbered ABOUT much serving,” not “Cumbered WITHmuch serving!”

2.  I imagine that she was tired and more than a little frustrated. Here, she was HAVING TO DO all the work while Mary sat in the living room and enjoyed listening to the Lord talk.  Ladies, does that remind you of how it is when company comes, you are left alone in the kitchen to both cook and clean while the other ladies sit and talk?

G.  Cumbered – a s0-called archaic (old, outdated) word for burdened, hindered, troubled.    I hate it when people say the Word of God is outdated!  “Cumbered with heavy clothing.”  So many are trying to serve Christ but find service a burden instead of a blessing. 

H.  Too many children of God are spending their time in service FOR Christ without spending time WITH Christ!

I.  Mary was a Good woman!  Mary was a Godly woman!  Mary Loved the Lord!  Mary was content in sitting at the Lord’s feet.

J.  I want to look at the little story of Martha and Mary for a few minutes this morning and give us a biblical definition of what it is to abide in His presence.  Luke 10:38-42**

1.  We See That Mary Longed To Be With Christ.

a.  Martha was Cumbered – vs. 40  In the preceding verse, we see that Martha was glad to see Jesus Christ and received Him willingly.  He was more than welcome in her home.  He was wanted! 

1)  I know that Martha had work to do so I am not “knocking” her labor.  Without people who are willing to labor, nothing would ever get done but there is a time to labor for Christ and a time to rest with Christ!

2)  The word “cumbered” is an interesting word.  It means to be drawn around, to be driven about mentally, to be distracted, to be over-occupied or too busy about a thing.

3)  The only other use of the word is cumbereth:

Luke 13:7  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? (Cumbereth – to render the ground useless!)

b.  Mary was Contented with Communing – vs. 39  While Martha wanted Him in her home, Mary wanted to be with Him!

Luke 8:35  Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed,sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Proverbs 8:34  Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

2.  We See That Mary Loved Christ.

a.  Martha was Working – vs. 40  “serve alone”  I have no problem understanding that Martha also love the Lord very much.  This is shown forth in other portions of scripture where Christ Jesus spent much time in their home.  Martha approached our Lord in John 11, after the death of Lazarus, and confessed that if He had been there, her brother would not have died.

b.  Mary was Worshipping – vs. 39  “sat at Jesus’ feet”  Here, we find that place of obeisance and humility.  Servants sat at the feet of their masters showing both obedience and affection.  Mary Magdalene anointed the feet of Jesus.

Luke 7:44-45  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wipedthem with the hairs of her head. 45  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

John 21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.  (Tell me that you love me, Peter!  Tell me that you love me more than anything else in the world, Peter!!)

3.  We See That Mary Listened To Christ – vs. 39

a.  Martha was Burdened – vs. 41  “careful and troubled about many things”  Serving our Lord had lost its blessing and became a burden to Martha.  She was not serving because she wanted to serve.  She was serving because, as the woman of the house, she had to serve.  How many times has the work of the Lord become a burden to God’s people?  We do what we are expected to do just because we are expected to do so!  The service of the “bond slave” becomes a thing of the past as we labor, seemingly unrewarded, in these last days.

b.  Mary was Blessed – vs. 42  “good part, which shall not be taken away”  I also have no doubt that Mary spent many hours laboring beside of Martha.  Her sitting at the feet of our Lord had nothing to do with laziness.  It had to do with her fervent desire to both be with Him and hear His gracious words.

Matthew 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Job 23:12  Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessaryfood.

4.  We See That Mary Lingered With Christ – vs. 40

a.  Martha was Absent – vs. 40  “to serve alone”  The Master has

come and is now speaking while Martha remains cumbered and worried in the kitchen!  Could not He who fed the thousands with just 5 loaves and 2 fishes met their physical needs.  Would it have be such a great thing if then even missed the evening meal that day.  When the Lord spoke, Martha was AWOL!  She was missing.

b.  Mary was abiding – vs. 40  “my sister hath left me”  Mary sought that “good part, which shall not be taken away from her!”  Time spent with Christ is not time wasted for Christ!  Yes, we can be doing a multitude of other things that are both needed and profitable but that time spend with Him is sublime!

Psalms 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence isfulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.

Psalms 95:2  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Psalms 100:2  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Psalms 140:13  Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Conclusion:  There is a song that I love to hear, especially the chorus that goes very well with this message.  It is titled “When I’m With Him” and the chorus goes like this:

When I’m with Him;

When I’m with Him;

The fairest pleasures of the world grow dim;

And in him heart, I feel the thrill of glory;

When I’m with Him, when I’m with Him.