Page 6 6 ENCOUNTER 1 October A.D. 29 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42) I think it’s fair to say that most of the sermons that have been preached on this text have put Martha in a pretty dim light. Many a preacher has engaged in “Martha bashing.” Well, I’d like to say a kind word about Martha this afternoon. I want to draw your attention to verse 38–“Martha welcomed Him into her home.” Other translations say, “Martha received Him into her home.” Receiving Jesus Christ Bethany was the only place on this earth where Jesus Christ was completely and gladly received. It was the only place on earth where He felt at home. This is the outstanding feature of Bethany. And it is the first mark of the church that God is after. Jesus Christ was rejected in the world. But He was received in Bethany. Now what does it mean to receive the Lord Jesus? I think that every church on this planet would claim that they receive the Lord. But I’d like to expand our understanding of what it means to properly receive Him. How does a church give the Lord His proper and rightful place? This is a critical question. For upon it rests the whole matter of church restoration. I believe that the church will never be restored until we first understand how to receive the Lord properly.
Not all leaders think about wisdom as a character trait that needs to be carefully cultivated. Of course, we would quickly agree that wisdom is more valuable than money or status. At least we would agree with that statement intellectually. But how many of us pursue wisdom with the same vigor with which we pursue wealth? How many of us cultivate wisdom with the same passion we use to cultivate our stock portfolio? Somehow we believe that wisdom just comes by itself. Certainly, wisdom can and often is the end result of long experience in the leader’s field of expertise. But the leader who gains wisdom by making poor decisions and learning from them is much farther behind than the leader who seeks the right kind of wisdom from the start.
Kenneth Boa