The Rhythms of a Healthy Soul | Is That In The Bible? The Chosen | Luke 10:38–42 | Pastor Levi Lusko

Now we're inside house. Little bit details from the mat locks. Is that in the Bible? Week four teaching take one. Soft sticks. Do you struggle with a need for control? With anxiousness, with perfectionism, with people pleasing? Is a performance mentality a part of how you accidentally end up viewing your relationship with God?

If so, you're not alone. I feel you on all of those things. The passage that we are going to study today has so much good news for you and for me, too. Well, hello to everybody at Fresh Life Church, to our partner churches on the open network, and to everybody watching online, chosen fans.

My name is Levi Leco, and I want to welcome you to Is That in the Bible? From the set of The Chosen. And today we're looking at an episode from season 4. It's episode 5, Sitting, Serving, and Scheming. Okay. Okay. Settle down. It was really That's interesting. The horses love it.

How's your vineyard holding up? It's been especially dry as of late, but we're managing. What's the going daily for waterers and pruners? Why? You need a job? Not working for you, that's for sure. Same as carpentry. Yeah. Come on. Yeah, a dinarius. Yes. I'm disappointed. I thought you were shrewd.

I'm a generous man. That you are. That reminds me of a story. Is everything all right, Martha? I'm fine. Just um I've got a kettle on. She's Please continue. Okay. The kingdom of heaven is like the master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with the laborers for a dinario a day, he sent them into his vineyard. You make it sound so simple. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And to them he said, "You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right, I will give you."

So they went, going out again. About the sixth hour and the 9inth hour, he did the same. And about the 11th hour, he went out and found others standing. He said to them, "Why do you stand here idle all day? They said to him, "Because no one has hired us."

He said to them, "You go into the vineyard, too." When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, "Pall the laborers, pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first." So when those hired at the 11th hour came, each of them received a denial.

Now when those hired to first came, they thought they would receive more. Each of them also received dinners. And when they got it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you've made them equal to us who've been here all day in the scorching heat."

He replied, "Friend, I'm doing no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denial? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker the same. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?

So the last will be first and the first last. Wait, wait, hold on. The ones who worked the hour were paid the full dinari. That's that's 12 times more than what they were owed. It sounds to me like the owner of the vineyard was getting cheated. Is the kingdom of heaven unjust.

I get it. I'm happy to be last. Through earthly eyes, I suppose it looks unfair. But I didn't say the kingdom of this world. I said of heaven. It's a different calculus where people are not measured by what they deserve. Thank you. This looks delightful. Would have been better if I didn't have to do it all alone.

Better? Yes, better. More befitting of someone as important as you. It seems you didn't notice my sister has left me to serve alone. From the moment you got here, she hasn't done a thing to serve you. She's completely ignored everything I've been doing to make all of you comfortable.

And it's clear that she's not going to notice how hard I'm working on her own. The only thing that could change it is if you tell her to help me. ((music playing)) Martha, Martha, please sit down here with me. How can I sit? Only half your followers have been served.

We can discuss this later. I'm sorry. I know, but I want others to hear this. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You've done a wonderful thing. ((music playing)) You are anxious and troubled about many things and it is not for nothing. Hospitality will always matter and I am grateful for what you have done.

It's what you deserve and more. Your intention is well meaning. But only one thing is truly necessary. The best way to serve me is to pay close attention to my words. That is the priority. That is what your sister has chosen. It is a good portion and it will not be taken from her.

((music playing)) Taken their food, the servings, they are wonderful, but they'll pass away. But the rest of this world, my words, they'll never pass away. Mary has chosen to feistan something of eternal value. I want you all to hear this clearly. I do not rebuke Martha. Acts of service are beautiful.

Action is good. You're doing what you thought was expected of you. And what you do is valuable. and Mary probably could have helped a little. But listen, I don't want you distracted from being able to be present with me and the friends that I have brought. I'm inviting you to something that is better.

To sit at my feet. Listen carefully to my words and devour them as a meal more nourishing than actual food. ((music playing)) That said, I definitely don't want to waste Martha's amazing food. So, if you all got the lesson, let's all thank her and eat. ((applause)) Thank you. Thank you. Wonderful.

Thank you. ((music playing)) Divine. That word coming from you. Um I like vine. I will bring in the rest. Andrew, I'll help you res. What is that bright flavor in the bread? I snuck a little bit of uh mint and lemon into the dough. Brilliant. All right. Who didn't get any?

You just had one. No, no, no, no. No, no. Over here first. Over here first. It was a small small piece. I'll fight to the death. ((music playing)) Give this moment to the same side. I've been pushing the cart all day and I feel the ((music playing)) powerful. Now, is that in the Bible?

Yes, it is. It's in Luke 10. Let's turn there together and read verses 38 to 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's 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 from her."

And father, we thank you for the power of your word, the power to read it, the power to study it, the power to consider what these things mean to us. And we ask that your Holy Spirit would help us to see what we need to do in response, how we need to yield to you.

Would you convict? Would you comfort? Would you steer, lead, and guide? And would you draw anybody listening or watching this who doesn't know you, who is without God, without hope in the in this world. Would you draw them to yourself? We ask this in the name of Jesus.

Amen. Now, what is not happening here? We can for sure say that in this text, what's not happening is Jesus isn't correcting Martha for practicing hospitality. That is in fact something commended in the Bible. We are told to show hospitality to the unbelieving world to bring them into the house of faith to show hospitality to one another.

We're even told at one point that we could accidentally entertain an angel if we practice this gift, the spiritual gift of hospitality. So what this is is an instance of someone doing the right thing the wrong way. And when we do the right thing but we do it in the wrong way, it always leads to frustration.

And so that is what God is trying to teach us through this passage. Jesus is teaching Martha what we all need to know. The rhythms of a healthy soul. And that's the title of this message. Now backing up when we look at this clip in this scene and we ask the question is that in the Bible there are some things to go into the bin of creative liberty.

So, we don't know whether it was lemon and mint in the crust that made the recipe so delicious as Martha was cooking. We also don't know that Big James tried to sneak seconds, although that's on brand for the Son of Thunder. But the rest of the interaction is pretty much, as you see, ripped straight from scripture from these verses.

Now, contextwise, Jesus here and his team, they're approximately six months from the cross, and they're ministering in and around Judea, the area surrounding Jerusalem. Uh, most recently, the 70 have been sent out to do ministry and come back, and there's a lot going on. The parable of the Good Samaritan was just told just uh in this chapter.

I mean, there's just some really powerful stuff that's taking place here. And so it's a busy time and to relax they've come to retreat at this place called Bethany, a village near Jerusalem on the other side of the Mount of Olives. And Jesus and his team often stayed there when they needed to do work in Jerusalem.

And they would commute back and forth. A two-mile journey would take roughly 30 to 40 minutes. Now, why out of all places he could go did Jesus choose to base camp at this home in Bethany? Well, the text tells us he was welcome. Martha welcomed Jesus into his home.

It's the same reason why Jesus and his disciples with all they needed to do went to the wedding in John 2 in Kaa where water got turned into wine and we got to see Jesus dancing in that episode. It was amazing. One of my favorite episodes. Why did he show up at that wedding?

Well, John 2 tells us Jesus and his disciples were invited. So, he shows up where he's welcomed. He shows up where he's invited. We have to stop and ask the question, have you welcomed Jesus into your world? He waits, Awtoer says, to be wanted. And it could be just as simple as that.

He would love to be involved in how you approach work, in your marriage, in your family, in your home if you would just take the time to say, "Hey, Jesus, I welcome you in." Let's not forget in the book of Revelation, it was to a church where Jesus was knocking on the door, wanting to get in, waiting to be welcomed.

So Jesus, we welcome you into this moment. Now, in this house, there were three siblings. Two of them were mentioned, Martha and Mary. There's also a brother named Lazarus. And the Bible tells us that Jesus loved Lazarus, loved Mary, and loved Martha. We know Lazarus will eventually, spoiler alert, get raised from the dead.

We also know to thank Jesus for that. Mary will pour a very expensive spikenard, a perfume, the only anointing Jesus will get for his burial. But there's a real friendship here, a real love here. I love on screen the depiction of Jesus and Laz having such a friendship.

Now, of course, that nickname is creative liberty. But it is clear there was a a jooulity, a friendship, a a real deep love, a what the Bible would call fileo, a brotherly love between Jesus and Lazarus. And I love how lifegiving, how life-giving their relationship is because Lazarus wasn't an apostle.

He of course is a follower of Christ, but there's no work talk, shop talk. And it's really important to have friendships outside of your industry where there's no pressure or expectation to quidd proquo or any of that, but they could just talk and Jesus could really let his hair down with Lazarus.

Now, this family had means clearly wealthy. In order to host a massive ministry team, Jesus and his 12 disciples plus+ because Jesus rolled with this entourage, you would have to have a large home. Which brings up an interesting conversation. We sometimes uh mis mistakenly have this image of rich being wicked and poor being righteous or holy when in scripture the problem isn't having money in your hand but letting it into your heart.

Someone might say, "But wait, doesn't the Bible say that money is the root of all kinds of evil?" Well, actually, no. The Bible says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. And God is quite frankly not concerned with how much you have as much as he is concerned about what you do with what you have.

And you can struggle with the love of money without even having any of it. Well, this family used their wealth with a mentality of stewardship to honor God with what was in their hands. That's how they were able to say yes to hosting Jesus and the crew to open up all the guest rooms and to pull down Murphy beds to open up foldout couches.

Where we're recording this from is a set called Phoebe's House where in season 5 of The Chosen, this Greek woman has said to Jesus and his team, "I want to host you in my beautifully appointed home." The disciples remark it's the, you know, most lavish or plush home they'd ever stayed in.

And I love that Phoebe represents and of course that's extra biblical. She's not in uh the gospels that we know about if she was there. But she represents many women who did follow Jesus and did out of their means want to support like Joanna uh like Mary Magdalene, these other Susanna women who said, "Hey Jesus, we want to help with our riches.

We want to help you. You can do great things for God if you have resources and a vision to serve him." And Martha seems to be at the forefront of that. the party planning committee in one person. All right? And so while they're there, she's hosting this dinner and she wants to celebrate Jesus.

He's tired. He's been pouring his heart out. He's been out saving souls, so he deserves a nice party. And JB Phillips translation of verse 40 says that Martha was very worried about her elaborate preparations. It was over the top. In today's culture, she'd have been on Pinterest figuring out the way to decorate everything and the way to portray the name tags and just really went overboard.

So that's Martha. When we jump to Mary, it's the opposite. While Jesus is giving a Bible study or giving a sermon, she's just sitting at his feet soaking things up. Now, we have to pause right here and just acknowledge what a big deal that was. That's a technical phrase in the Bible.

Paul said, "I sat at the feet of Gamma." It talks about a formal relationship with someone as your rabbi and you as their pupil. It's like saying, you know, you're my Jedi master and I'm your Padawan learner. It's a it's a shocking deal to see Mary accepted by Jesus as her rabbi.

He's saying, I take you on as my disciple. You have to realize how countercultural that was. Remember, different kind of king, different kind of kingdom. The common refrain from the Talmud and the Jewish leaders of the day would say things like in prayer, "Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has not made me a gentile, a slave, or a woman."

There was a common refrain that went like this. It would be better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman. and how different Jesus is. Commissioning the woman at the well to be the first to know that he's the Messiah, being sent as an evangelist.

Now here he's taken Mary on as his pupil. He was different. He was welcoming, equipping, honoring, dignifying, and deploying women everywhere he went. And Mary took full advantage of it. She shows up three times in the Bible here, John 11 and Matthew 26. And every single one of those three times, what is she doing?

Sitting at the feet of Jesus. It is literally a synonym for for who she was and how she lived. Well, finally, after having slaved away, Martha grew irritated. She's watching Mary lolly gagging at Jesus's feet. Oh, it must be nice just to sit there worshiping. And she loses it.

She goes full Gordon Ramsay. It's a kitchen nightmare. And she freaks out. And in response to her freaking out, Jesus gently points out that she was missing out. What he's saying to her is that there's room at my feet for you, too. He wanted her undivided attention. He said it was the one thing actually needed.

Meanwhile, she's being pulled in all these different directions, multitasking, but missing out on the only thing that really mattered. As a result, she was hurting herself. Think of it. Under the same roof with Jesus while he spoke, but in a different room. Close enough to see the fire, but back far enough that she couldn't feel the heat.

She was present in body for the sermon, but absent in heart. Her rhythms were all out of whack. Her soul not healthy. And because of how easy it is for us who have social media and the Uver Bible app on the same device, we can choose to worship and praise but also end up on news which can make us anxious all on the same device living in this world.

I want us to extract four truths from this text that can help us tap into the healthy soul of the rhythm Jesus wants for us. Number one, jot it down. Good things can keep you from the best things. To be clear, what Martha had chosen here in this moment wasn't a bad thing.

It's not as she was as though she was out doing something sinful, right? She's making baklava. I mean, she's making food for Jesus and the disciples. That's we can all agree is a good thing endorsed and affirmed by the teaching of scripture. And I would even say if you're going to practice hospitality to do so unto God, to do so with a heart of creativity.

It honors God to do things in an excellent manner. We think about the Old Testament and the building of the tabernacle and exactly how things were to be appointed and it was to be done well. That honors God. Sloppiness doesn't honor God. So what she was doing was clearly good.

This is an issue not of of good versus bad, but good versus the best. And as leadership expert Jim Collins says, the good can become the enemy of the best. You see, if the devil can't get you bad, he'll settle for busy. And that's Martha's problem here. Not bad, simply busy, thus missing out on what was best.

And so, in that moment, she neglected the good part. Verse 42, the the Message translation says she neglected the main course. What what a what a thought to have had the appetizer and the dessert, but to neglect the actual steak. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life."

She neglected the most important thing. And you and I can end up doing the same thing. Busy preaching sermons, doing kids ministry, coming, going, all the things that God has called us to do, but forgetting about the main thing. So, let's fight to not miss out on keeping the main thing the main thing.

Number two, takeaway truth. When you focus on others, you leave yourself unattended. It's interesting to think about how focused Martha has become on what Mary should be doing. Mary should be helping. She's just like like obsessed with with Mary. What it was driving her crazy how Mary was just sitting there.

Mary, Mary, Mary, just sitting there reading uh listening to the Bible, reading the Bible, but coming out of Jesus's mouth. And then eventually, while she's focused on what Mary should be doing, she ends up completely messed up in what she's doing to the point that she cuts Jesus off, interrupts his sermon, accuses him of not caring, and then orders him to tell Mary to do something.

It's wild. It reminds me of how Jesus told Peter about the plan for the cross, and Peter's response was, "Not so, Lord. Not so, Lord." Talk about an oxymoron. Those are two words that can never go together. No and Lord, right? You can't exalt him and rebuke him at the same time.

So, either he's Lord or he's not. And that's what Martha has come to. Why? Because she's focused on someone else. Didn't Jesus say in the sermon on the mount that when you try and get the speck out of your brother's eye, you end up with a 2x4 coming out of your own eye?

And that's why on the airplanes they tell us, you got to make sure and check your oxygen mask before you're ready to help someone else. As Martha's focusing on Mary's calling and what Mary should be doing, she neglects herself and is oblivious to to what it turns her into.

And it's a sobering warning because we are all blind to our own blind spots. And so we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and just worry about ourselves and not be thinking about what everybody else should do out there. Third takeaway truth is that work without worship is wearing.

Work without worship is wearing. It's counterintuitive, but you actually will get more done when you take the time to rest. That's crazy because we get so busy and then we get frenetic and one of the first things we neglect is self-care or soul care. But you actually become much more productive when you stop to rest.

That's what Ecclesiastes 10:10 says. If the axe is dull and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength. But wisdom brings success. So, it's wise to take the time to take care of the blade of your soul. And that's what worship does. Worship sharpens the blade of our souls.

Without rest, without worship, you will burn out eventually. It's not if, it's when. You'll grow resentful. You'll start to feel like Martha did. Like, I'm doing all this and God doesn't even see me. God doesn't even notice me. That's that's a a warning sign. That's a light on the dashboard blinking.

Something's gone wrong. The rhythms of rest are being neglected and now you're becoming bitter. And there's a real interesting correlation between anxiety and idolatry. Martha's anxious, and it's because she's elevating her dinner plan above the the main thing of Jesus. And and so when we feel that anxiety, it tells us there's probably some idolatry.

Sabbath is after all a yearly and daily principle for a reason. And man's first job after creation on day six was to rest on day seven. Adam was probably confused. I'm not tired yet. God says, "No, I want you to rest because of what I've done." And that's how daily, weekly, we're to approach everything.

Resting first, going into work, rest from the finished work of what Jesus has done. Lastly, number four, when you lose your why, you lose your way. Martha's original why was to serve Jesus. That's why she invited him into her home. She never intended to start bossing him around or become bitter, to cut his sermon off.

She came to serve him, but she drifted from her why. We can at times do the same thing. We can wander off the path when the what we're doing consumes us and we forget about anchoring ourselves in the why. This whole sermon boiled down to just one sentence is this.

When what you're doing for God isn't fueled by time with God, you will start to act like your God. And that's why we have to fight and focus to keep the why burning bright in our hearts, in our homes, on our teams, in our organizations, in everything we do to keep it back to the main thing of the why.

Now, as we close, let's consider Jesus's response to her. He said, "Martha, Martha." No, no, that's not how he said it. He said, "Martha, Martha," lovingly repeating himself to get her attention because there's nothing more beautiful than the sound of Jesus saying your name. And listen to me, beloved.

He knows your name. He said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things." Why did he speak to her like he loved her? Because he did. John 11:5 says, "Jesus loved Martha." And guess what? He loves you, too. warts and all with all of your mistakes and with all of your baggage and with all of your proclivities.

He loves you and he wants time with you. He wants you to sit at his feet like Mary so that you can rise up to serve like Martha. So, what good thing in your life is keeping you from Jesus's feet today? And will you at his beckoning, at his summoning, which he's doing that to you, will you come to him and rest?

I want to, if you would close your eyes with me as we begin to to close here, I want to read to you Jesus's words as rendered in the message translation. And I kind of look at the message translation when you compare it to New King James or the ESV to kind of what we have in the chosen.

There's liberties taken in the the phrasing of things, but there's a power because it's all undergurtded by the strength of God's word. So, so receive this. And if you wouldn't mind, open your hands up just as a posture of receiving. This is Jesus's words from Matthew 11. Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion?

Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

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