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Page 11 11 the fact that her service was misguided and misdirected. Her heart was in the wrong place. She was tied up with the wrong thing. She was so occupied with preparing a proper meal that she didn’t realize that God Himself was sitting in her living room! And the Lord exposed it. I can see Martha, feverishly serving, working, and toiling, but having no time to sit at the Lord’s feet, loving Him, fellowshipping with Him, and discovering how He wishes to be served. Point: Our service to the Lord ought always to flow out of our fellowship with Christ. Learn to sit at the Lord’s feet and hear His word, then rise up and serve at His command. So from this brief narrative, we discover four features about Bethany. In Bethany Jesus Christ is utterly welcomed and received. In Bethany, we sit at His presence, hear His Word, and share it with our brethren. In Bethany, women are given the same privileges and the same status as men. In Bethany, our temperaments, dispositions, and motives are exposed. I now wish to give a word of exhortation to the church in St. Augustine and every other church that hears this message. Be a Bethany. Receive your Lord properly and completely. Make knowing Christ your chief pursuit. Learn to sit at His feet and hear His voice through one another. Let the Lord expose your hearts. And don’t run away from one another when He does. Instead, accept His dealings. Why? So that there can be a home for Jesus Christ in this city. A Bethany, if you will. Let’s now move on to the second narrative.