It's all about Jesus
Many Christians these days have forgotten who Jesus Christ is in their lives. They have become so concerned with the issues of the world, to an extend that they have forgotten keep their focus on Jesus Christ. There are so many things that are happening in our lives which could take our focus away from God.
We hardly ever have time with God because we are preoccupied with the things of the world. We seem to be concerned about what the world says about us and we have forgotten what Jesus says about us. We are actually supposed to be concerned with what Jesus says about us, because He is the one who can see the things that we do in secret, whereas the people we are so concerned about cannot. Jesus even knows our hidden thoughts.
We are also busy trying to impress Jesus with the things of this world and in the presence of people. All that Jesus wants is for us to spend time with Him and to get to know Him. That is all that Jesus asks from us. He wants us to first seek His Kingdom and His righteousness before everything. Whatever that we need shall come after we have sought Him in truth.
Let’s take our reading from Luke 10: 38-42: “The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!” The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her”.
In this Scripture we read about Martha who was busy doing all the house chores while her sister, Mary, was seated at the feet of Jesus listening to Him. Martha was busy doing what she knew best and forgot to give attention to Jesus, who could give her even more of what she knows. Instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus like Mary, Martha was running around in the house doing the chores. She wanted to impress Jesus with her skills and abilities, but missed out at what is very important. That is sitting in the presence of Jesus.
It is also the same with us as Christians today. Some of us come to Church to impress Jesus. We are not coming to church because we want Him to change us. As this is Sunday, a day dedicated to God, we find that some are impatient for the church service to end. They are impatiently are looking at their watches. We have forgotten that God gave six days to do all that we have to do, but on the seventh day (Sunday), we should give our time to fellowshipping and glorifying God. God created this day so that He can spend time with us but we are so busy that we even make other engagements and appointments on this day dedicated to God. This is because we are more concerned about the world that anything else.
If it means that you stay in the Temple of God for the whole day, let it be so. Let us not forget that this day is not about us but about Jesus. This is the day the Jesus is looking to deliver you, heal you, and bless you. However, we make our won arrangements on this important day. We are too busy going up and down forgetting that this is the day that God has made for us. God says that we must cast all our burdens unto Him, and this is the time to do that.
In the text we have just read, we realise that Jesus rebukes Martha for her business. Jesus said to Martha: “Stop being worried. You are worried and upset about so many things” We all know what the Word of God says about being worried. God discourages us to be anxious and worried, because He knows exactly what we want. We can fast and pray for the things that we want, but Jesus knows what you need and would not give you what you want. Jesus knows that some of the things that we want will change us, and that is why He will only give you what you need.
From this morning, we should appreciate and acknowledge the time that He gives us. This morning I appealing to you that, as this is the Year of Yes, let us seek Him with all of our hearts. Let us seek Him first, stick to His Word and sit at His feet in our daily lives. We must stop impressing Jesus. We must rather look for His presence in our lives. We must change the way we think about the world, before it swallow us. It is our responsibility to change our families and to change the world. We should not follow the world, but we should make Jesus known to the world.
We should not forget that everything is about Jesus. Everything that we have and own is about Jesus. Let us make everything in our lives about Jesus. Let us practice His presence in whatever we do. The way we busy people, we even make our prayers in haste. We make our prayers in a hurry and we do not even wait to hear what God says about the prayer you have just made. When you pray you must wait for God’s reply. We are praying to God who listens and reply. Therefore, after making a prayer, do not be in a hurry to get into bed. Wait and listen to God’s reply to your prayer. Some of us ask God to guide us or to show us the way, but when it is time to hear how God responds to the petition we have made, we have no time to listen because we are in a rush. We are like Martha, who was busy with her household chores instead of sitting at Jesus’ feet and listen to what He says. Instead of sitting in the presence of Jesus, we are busy with our troubles. We are concerned about our finances and whatever goes in our lives.
In some instances, we are in so much hurry for God to resolve our situations. You make a prayer about your situation today and already you want God to answer you the following day. God has assured some of you of the time He will answer you, but because of your busyness, you could not even hear what God was saying to you. We do not even know what God you are serving, because you are so busy you don’t even have time to spend with Him. We have become lukewarm Christians. We are not totally committed to God, because of our busy schedule. As a result we become lukewarm Christians. We are neither cold nor hot.
Let us confirm this from Revelations 3: 15-16: “I know everything you have done, and you are not cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other. But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth” The Bible says that we do not know where we stand. Jesus needs to live in us. This year we are all declaring Year of the Reward, but what reward are you waiting for? Have you been faithfully committed to God or to the world? If you have been committed to the world you will get the reward from the world. However, there is a promise that you will receive your reward, but it will be determined by you commitment. If you are committed to God you will receive your reward from Him, but if your commitment is to the world, then your reward will come from the world. If you are committed to gossips you will get the reward of gossips. People of God we need to spend time with Jesus. And by doing that, you will not be lukewarm but you will always be on fire for God. Jesus will sometimes delay what you have asked from Him just to see whether you are lukewarm or you are on fire for Him. He would want to see whether you are praying and fasting just to get something from Him.
However, if you spend time with Jesus, you will know what reward you will receive. You will know what reward you’re going to get because you listen to Him. You will have time for Him, and you will be able to hear and understand Him. The word of God says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” – John 10:27. For you to know the voice of God, you need to dwell into His Word. You will be able to understand when you dwell in His Word. The only way to know God is to understand His Word. In as much as we need His blessings, we need His Word in our lives. You need to understand the Word of God, because it is your direction and your compass. It is your guide on how to live your life.
Salvation is very personal. That is why we see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him, where her sister (Martha) was busy in the house. Mary did not even feel guilty that she is not helping her sister. She knew that to sit at the feet of Jesus was important for her soul. So fellow Christians, please understand that salvation is not about your spouse’s or your children’s soul, but it is about your own soul. The least you can do is to teach them to know the right thing and to know who God is, but you cannot live for them. They can come to church with you every Sunday, but only to find that they are like Martha. They are too busy. Even during the time of sermon, they are still connected to the world by chatting on the cellphones. They need to be told to sit at the feet of God so as to understand who He is.
You need to sit at the feet of Jesus and seek Him, before you get what you want. Once you realise that you do not get what you want, you will backslide. But when you spend time with Jesus, whether you get what you want or not will not matter. What matters to you is all about Jesus. This morning I would like to urge you to seek first the Kingdom of God. Make everything about Jesus, and see if He would not unleash everything that He has promised you.
I always say that there are so many promises in the Word of God. But there is no way He can give you His promises if you do not diligently seek Him. It is like a woman who is not interested in a man but only interested in what he has or what he can provide. This is what we Christians do to our father. We are not interested in God and His Word, but we are interested in what He can give to us.
The relationship between us and God must very intimate. This relationship also needs nourishment. The way to nourish this relationship is to spend time with God. We should not pray only when it is necessary or when we are in trouble. We should not determine our own terms to our God. We should cut our terms and focus on His terms, because it is all about Him and no about us. It is not about what we want. It is all about Jesus.
The Book of 1John 2:28 says “Children, stay one in your hearts with Christ. Then when he returns, we will have confidence and won’t have to hide in shame” Jesus tells us that we should be one with Him. He says that we should not hide behind our faithful church attendance, but we should be faithful in our fellowship with Him. It should not be about your church attendance but it should be about your heart.
Start this year by being one with Jesus Christ. The devil doesn’t want you to be intimate with Christ and he will do everything to destroy that. He will pull out every stop to lead you astray from God. We should be sizzling hot for God, ad by so doing the devil will not come near you. For you to receive those flames is to dwell in the Word of God and through the fellowship with God. This morning I am encouraging you to focus on Jesus.
People of God, I am encouraging you to seek God first and everything else will follow. Do not worry about the crucification of this world. People will crucify you, but remember what Jesus said. He said in this world you will be crucified and persecuted, but He has encouraged us to be cheerful during our persecutions because He has overcome the world. Forget about what people are saying about you. Forget about your lack. In your suffering know that God is in control. When you’re faced with challenges, pray with your heart and also wait on God with all of your heart.
Seek God’s Kingdom first and stop being worried about the things of the world. Seek first the Kingdom of God and you shall know who God is, and you shall arrive at your destiny.
Glory be to God