One Thing Is Needed

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph)

Luke 10: 38-42

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.”

Picture this: Jesus is coming to town. He will be there for a short while and is to pass further. Martha takes the initiative to invite Jesus and was intent to spend precious time with Him. But she was distracted in serving and it was Mary, Martha’s sister, who maximized the opportunity presented to her by sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him.

You may be busy with so many things in life. You may think that life is short and may want to do as much as you can-and you are right. But do you really know the one thing that is important? Only one thing is really important; one thing is needed – listening to God.

Martha was busy with serving; and serving Jesus. She was not serving idols; she was not serving others. But Jesus observed that she was worried and troubled about many things. Food is necessary; but is only secondary to hearing the word of God. That is why it is written, “Man shall live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4: 4).

Our spirit thrives on this spiritual food-the word of God. This is my burden today to share how we can listen to God in these times! Unless we make the habit of listening to God a priority, seek and pursue to hear His word-on every matter under the sun, we are in danger of being distracted and will fail to realize our full potential.

There are many different voices speaking in and over your life. It may be your own thoughts and imaginations, the voices of your friends, colleagues or even an enemy; in the midst of all these voices, there is the still, small voice of God. Will you recognize His voice? How can you recognize His voice if you do not first know Him? Do you know your God? Jesus declares “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) and again “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (John 10:14)

If you, in this short life, make it a priority to seek after God to know Him, you will find Him (Jer. 29:13). You will hear His voice; and you can listen to what He says. Because only one thing is really needed-to listen to Him! Tune your ears to the voice of Jesus and hear Him.

God speaks through His creation

God moves in mysterious ways, but speaks plainly. The songwriter has sung,
“O Lord My God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works Thy hands hath made-
I see the stars, I hear the roaring thunder,
Thy powers throughout the universe displayed”.

This is an echo from the psalmist’s wonder: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19: 1-3).

Few days ago, I read about how the scientists have discovered an entire galaxy. The distant stars and galaxies are so far away from the earth, that scientists measure their distances in light-years. Imagine also that it takes about 1.3 seconds for light from the moon to reach the earth. What a vast and almost unimaginable creation-both in size and in number! Yet God knows the stars-He calls them all by name (Psalm 147:4).

Does His creation speak of His greatness to you? It must. Look on the stars in the night sky; look on the birds that sing. Look upon the mountains and follow a stream. They tell a story-an old, old story-of Jesus and His love. You see, if God had wished, He could have created just you and me-the mankind. He could have added a dash of things for food and that would be it. But our God did not do that. There is wonder in His creation. How ‘scientific’ laws are woven around His perfect placements-from the atom to the biggest star!

When we think of the magnitude of His creation-and we are on earth-a tiny planet in the universe that is a part of one of the galaxies-the Milky Way; we are amazed at how small and insignificant we must be-physically, to God who declares-“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool…” (Isaiah 66:1). The Psalmist understood this: He says, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8:4). But God so loved you and me, that He gave His only begotten Son-Jesus… that we may believe in Him, that we may know Him and that we may hear Him!

God speaks through His voice

Yes, God speaks to us in a supernatural way too! There are many who lived and who are still alive, who has heard the voice of God-the personal, definitive and audible voice of God.

Look at John 12: 28-30. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

Doesn’t it seem strange, that people standing together around Jesus heard the same voice, and John was clear on what the voice from heaven said, while the others said It had thundered! We humans have this tendency of explaining away things that are supernatural -as if they are natural! When we say that the heavens and the earth were God-created, then a few would say that there was a big bang (Big Bang theory) explosion and the masses scattered to form the universe! Joseph heard God speaking to him in a dream-but his brothers called him a ‘Dreamer’. The prophets heard from God and spoke to the people, but they rejected it saying it was ramblings. Over and over in the Bible, and even in the world we are living today, we see and hear of how God is still speaking to His children.

God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon asked and received a wise and understanding heart. (1 Kings 3: 5-12). But God also put a condition “So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” But even with a supernatural visitation from God, and hearing His voice, Solomon would only stray from God’s precepts and begin to serve idols! That is why I say, the supernatural voice of God is good, but is not the ultimate. The thing that is needed is a listening heart!

God speaks through His word

“The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD. -Jer. 23: 28

The ultimate authority in knowing and hearing God’s voice is God’s word. It is God’s word that is the grain- the rest is chaff, whether it be natural voices, supernatural experiences, dreams and visions; all these must be aligned with the written word of God with us today. That is why the Psalmist, after describing God’s voice in creation, comes around to talk about His word.

David says in Psalm 19: 7-9 thus:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

God’s law, testimony, statutes, commandment, judgments – are found in His word. Gulshan Esther, who wrote “The Torn Veil”, was left crippled after a bout of typhoid when she was 6 months old. But miraculously Jesus spoke to her, healed her and told her to walk and meet a person to receive a copy of the Bible. Psalm 19: 10-13 continues about God’s word:

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.

God’s word is spirit and they are life. If you tune your ears to God’s word, you will be blameless and kept back from presumptuous sins. You will be kept back from pitfalls and false voices. You are not alone. You have a Helper. And when He {Holy Spirit} has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; (John 16: 8).

What about you today? Did you hear from God? If you are too busy to hear God’s word, then you are too busy. Pause, take a deep breath, relax and wait. It is no use hurrying to do many things that you worry about! Only one thing is needed – God’s view, voice and word. Before you take that important decision, before you plunge into a career, business venture or marriage-take time to hear God’s voice! Let go of all those strings you are trying to pull-it’s gonna break sooner than later! Let God lead you; let His word guide you. You will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way. Walk in it!”

God’s word is living and powerful, as a two-edged sword-you will separate, distinguish between the grain and the chaff. God has given us the written word ‘logos’; and the living word ‘rhema’. God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and the light unto our paths. If you have not known God through His word, what better day to start than today; begin now to read His word. If you have not read His word, how can God, the Holy Spirit, bring to remembrance what God has spoken in His word? We can receive His ‘rhema’, only if we have gone through His ‘logos’. Otherwise we will be like toothless lions, putting on a façade of bravado against the wily devil! Because it is the word of God, that is the sword of the Spirit-the weapon of attack in God’s armor.

An angel spoke to Cornelius, asking him to call for Peter. God spoke to Peter in a vision, preparing him to meet Cornelius-a gentile. Both Peter and Cornelius listened to the word of God and Cornelius heard the gospel from Peter and was saved with his household. Isn’t it worth pondering, why the angel did not preach the gospel to Cornelius? Because, it is given to us-you and me and our brothers and sisters in Christ, to share the good news of salvation-in-Jesus Christ. What a privilege we have to be mouthpieces of God’s word! The Bible says that we are ambassadors for Christ. Speak on behalf of Christ, through His word!

One thing is needed-hearing God’s voice. God speaks to us in His creation, through his audible voice and from His written word. The best is yet to come only if we are willing to listen to His voice. May God enable you to hear His voice. Amen.