The Model Follower, Part 3

This morning as we look once again at the model follower in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, I want to take you to another model follower. In 1 Thessalonians 2, you have a church that follows the Lord, and they become model followers. But not everybody who follows the Lord is a model follower. That's very important to understand. So I want to take you to another narrative in the Scriptures that shows us about an individual who is a model follower. It's a story about priorities. It's a story about that which is preeminent.

It's a story about the main thing. In other words, it's a story about understanding what is preeminent in the life of a believer. If I could tell you, I could simplify your Christianity by helping you understand one main objective, would you do it? Because the Bible gives us that. It tells us that. If you could just narrow it down to one thing, one thing that's the priority, that's above everything else, would you do it? This story is about an individual who is committed to doing that. It's a story only found in Luke's gospel.

It's not Matthew, Mark, or John. Just in Luke's gospel. And Luke records it for us at a very strategic time in the ministry of Jesus. It's about six months before Jesus' death. And so therefore, he's going to change some things about his ministry. There's going to be a de-emphasis in miracles, and a higher emphasis on teaching. And he's going to go from this story in Luke's gospel to the end, from city to village to town to village to city. And we don't know what the names of the cities are or the villages are.

Luke doesn't tell us until he gets to Jericho. And when he gets to Jericho, he heals two blind men on his way to Calvary's cross. But the story is so strategic because it sets the tenor for the rest of the ministry of Christ. It helps his disciples to understand how they in turn could be model followers of the Lord. A disciple is a follower of the Lord. A disciple is a learner. The mathetes is a learner, and they follow the Lord. And if you're here today and you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are a disciple of the Lord's, and you are a follower of the Lord.

But are you a model follower? That's what set the church at Thessalonica apart from everybody else. They were such a model, they became the pattern to follow. The question comes when you look at our church and each of us, do we present the kind of model followers that others can pattern their lives after?

Very important. Because you see, once you have what the Bible says is the main thing, the priorities set in place, everything else in your life falls in order, falls in place.

But if the one main thing is not in place, then everything else will be dysfunctional. So with that in mind, you would think, wow, I need to understand what this main thing is, what this priority thing is, what is the preeminent thing in my life that needs to be happening right now as you are speaking, so that I can make sure my life is in order and not falling apart. The story is a very familiar story. It will not be unfamiliar to most of you. You will know it well. And when I tell you where it's at, you're going to say, I know that story, but do you really?

Do you really? You know, we can become so familiar to the portions of Scripture that we forget how important God's living Word is in our lives. And so we need to understand what the Lord has for us today. So this is going to be the introduction to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, the church that was a model following church, to look at one individual who was a model follower, who patterned their life like those in Thessalonica did.

The passage is found in Luke chapter 10. If you've got your Bible, you might want to turn there with me so you can follow along. Luke chapter 10, beginning with verse number 38, this is the narrative. Now, as they were traveling along, he entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister called Mary who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His Word. But Martha was distracted in all her preparations. She came up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?

Then tell her to help me. But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, only one. For Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Mary has chosen the one thing that's necessary. Martha, you did not make that choice. Mary chose to sit at the feet of the Lord and listen to divine truth from the incarnate God Himself. That was the one thing that was necessary. That was the main thing that's important.

That is the preeminent thing in the life of a follower of Christ, is to listen to divine truth. Now, follow with me as we go through the story. Martha is not an enemy of the Lord. She, like her sister Mary, is a follower of the Lord. They are the sisters of Lazarus. So we know that the Lord's in Bethany. But we don't know how Martha or Mary were born again. Maybe they were born again because of the 70 that were sent out and they heard the Word and they gave their life to Christ. We don't know. But all we know is that these two individuals do love the Lord.

But there's only one that's a model follower. Both are followers, but only one is a model follower. And it's not Martha, it's Mary, because she would sit and listen to divine truth. Now, listen carefully. Martha and Mary have no preeminent place of ministry, no popular place of ministry. They are two women. But one of them knows that which is preeminent, that which is the priority, and the other one does not. Note this, that listening to the revealed Word of God tells you that every spiritual duty is motivated and defined by what God has said.

Every spiritual duty is motivated and defined based on divine truth. If you do not know what God has said, your life will be agitated. Your life will be frustrated. You'll be like Mary, you'll be distracted. You'll become angry if you do not know what God has said. Because everything about being a follower of Christ is dependent upon what God has said, opening my heart to that like those in Thessalonica put out the welcome mat and welcome what divine truth says. Mary wanted to do that. Mary had this desire to sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen to what he says, because she characterizes the essence of a believer.

Christ has already said in Luke's these words. In Luke chapter 6, he has already said, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts upon my words, I will show him what he is like. And he goes on to talk about the house built upon the rock versus the house built upon the sand. And then over in Luke chapter 8, he says these words, verse number 19, and his mother and brothers came to him and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd.

It was reported to him, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wishing to see you. But he answered and said to them, my mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it. And then over in Luke chapter 11, he's going to say this, Luke 11 verse 27, while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast at which you nursed. But he said on the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

So again, the emphasis is on listening to what God says, putting out the welcome mat, receiving what he says, because you recognize that he is the authoritative God, and then acting upon what he says.

But it all begins with hearing and listening to the words of God. That's why I love what Solomon says back in Proverbs chapter 15. He says these words in verse number 31, he whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. That's very important. Chapter 16, verse number 20, he who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. So the blessed one is the one who gives his attention to the word of God, so much so he knows what God says, so he puts his trust in God, his confidence in God.

Over in Proverbs chapter 19, verse number 20, Solomon says, listen to counsel and accept discipline that you may be wise the rest of your days. Verse 27, cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. You stop listening to what God says, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

You need to hear what he says when it comes to discipline and reproof. So you go over to Proverbs chapter 28, verse number 9, Solomon says this, he who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination. If you turn your ear away from listening to divine truth, the law of God, even your prayer is an abomination. Why? Because you don't know what God says about prayer.

You don't know what God says about how to pray. So you need to know what God says. So Mary has chosen the one thing that's needful, the one thing that's necessary, the one thing that's the main thing, the one thing that's the priority, that's the preeminent thing Mary has chosen, Martha has not. Both followers of the Lord, but one is a model follower, the other is not. The question is, are we model followers? You know, when you read this, you can't help but understand the contrast. The butologies of Scripture are just the greatest thing.

But Martha. It says, Mary was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His Word, but the contrast is, but Martha. Now listen, Martha wasn't sinning. Jesus was coming to the house. If Jesus was coming to your house today, where would you be? Would you be home fixing the finest meal, making sure your house is spotless and clean, smells just so, looks just right, food prepared perfectly well, set on the table exquisitely? Or would you be here listening to the Word of God? Where would you be? Is it wrong to show hospitality to Jesus?

Of course not. We should be hospitable. Is it wrong to prepare a great meal for Jesus? Absolutely not. That's not wrong. No. But Mary chose that which was best over that which Martha chose which was good. Martha chose something very good to show hospitality, to be very receptive to the Lord, to give Him a meal. But if you know the Lord, food was never an issue for Him. Right? Mary was concerned about the bread of life for her soul. Martha was concerned about the bread that was burning in the oven, food for her physical body.

But Mary, she was concerned about food for her soul. Once your priorities are messed up, your attitude changes. Note the difference between the attitude of Martha and the attitude of Mary. Martha had no joy. Not at all. She was frustrated. She was agitated. She was exasperated. But Martha, so much so, she begins to tell the Lord what to do. You ever been there? You ever said, Lord, what are you doing? Lord, maybe you should do it this way. Well, that's because you didn't make listening your priority, listening the main thing, hearing the word of divine truth the main thing in your life.

That's why she was so agitated. She begins with what is good. But because she doesn't understand what is best, even that which is good creates selfishness, frustration, and moves you to act foolishly. That's very important to understand. Listen to what she says. But Martha was distracted. She was pulled away. She was dragged away. How easy it is for us to be distracted. We can easily condemn Martha. Don't do that. Don't do that because we find ourselves just like Martha. We have the opportunity to hear the word of the Lord, and what do we do?

We choose to go to a ball game on Sunday instead of hear the word of the Lord. We choose to stay home and fix a meal for a family that's coming out of town instead of hear the word of the Lord. We're followers of the Lord. She doesn't have to be model followers at that time. We have the opportunity to come on even Wednesday nights to hear the word of the Lord, to hear it preached and taught, and to grow and to understand the sovereignty of God as it applies to each appointed time as we talked about the last four weeks in Ecclesiastes 3.

But we choose to do something else, something else that's very, very good. Going to my kid's game. That's good. It's not bad. It's not sinful. Going to work, that's not bad or sinful. That's a good thing. Doing something for someone else, that's a good thing. But is it the best thing at the moment? Does it cause you to neglect the priority and the preeminent thing, the one thing that is needful in your life? That's to listen to divine truth that you might act upon what God has said. This becomes so very, very important.

So easily we turn away from listening to divine truth. We become dragged away. And Martha was pulled away with all her preparations. She came up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has led me to do all the serving alone? This is what she's saying really. Lord, are you just going to sit there and keep talking about divine life-changing, soul-transforming, sin-shattering, heavenly blessing-producing, joy-giving truth and ignore that the tables are not set? That's exactly what she's saying.

Now, we might not see that in the translation, but that's exactly what she's saying. Don't you care? Asking the Lord if he didn't care. When the Lord says, cast all your cares upon me because I care for you. And then she proceeds to tell the Lord what to do. When she says these words, tell her to help me. That's a pretty bold thing to do. Tell her to help me. We come to a place in our lives where we sometimes begin to tell the Lord what to do, how to respond, how to act. And that's because we have taken the main thing and set it aside because we've been distracted or pulled away from that main thing to do something that might be good.

It might even be great, but it's not the one thing that's necessary. And Mary has chosen the one thing that's needful. And this sets a tone for the rest of the ministry of Christ because he wants his men to see from here on out, you better listen to what I'm going to say. Because everything from here on out is going to help you understand everything about prayer because that's the very next section. The Lord teaches us how to pray. They're going to know how to pray, so they need to listen about that.

And everything else that Christ deals with from here on out, he's in teaching mode. And they need to be able to listen to divine truth because they're going to carry the torch into the book of Acts and to present Christ to the world. But if they're not listening, they'll get frustrated, agitated, default to temptation. Peter, he didn't listen.

Christ said he was going to die, be crucified, rise again the third day. He didn't listen. Neither did the other 11, by the way. They didn't listen either because they were preoccupied with their own selves. That's why they kept arguing about who was the greatest in the kingdom, right? Even on the night of the Passover, they were arguing about who was the greatest in the kingdom. Why? Because they couldn't divorce themselves from themselves because all they could think of was, am I the greatest? I know you're not the greatest, but then I must be the greatest.

On the eve of the crucifixion, because they didn't listen, they didn't hear the word of God, put out the welcome mat, and receive it and say, wow, my Messiah is going to die for me. That's what was prophesied in the Old Testament. That's what he's been saying all along. I get it. They didn't get it until after he died and rose again. They finally got it.

But the point is, the one thing that's necessary is to hear the word of the Lord, put out the welcome mat, receive whatever it is God says, and respond in a way that honors the Lord.

That's it. Mary becomes the model follower. That's exactly the way the church at Thessalonica was. So go back with me to the first Thessalonians chapter 2.

Kind of a long introduction, but you know what? We'll be here for a while anyway, so we're okay. So it says in 1 Thessalonians 2.13, for this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. Just a fabulous verse. Fabulous verse. We are constantly giving thanks to God because you responded appropriately to the word of God.

How is that? You received the word of God, and then you recognize that it was, in fact, not the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, and you put out the welcome mat, you accepted it as the word of God, and it performed its work in you who believe. There was a reception because there was a recognition, and then there was a reaction to that. That's why they're the model church, because they're model followers of the Christ of the church. They want to hear what He has to say. They listen intently.

And Paul says, this is the word of God. We know that from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse number 1, Paul says, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preach to you, which also you receive, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain. He says, For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

In other words, I received this from the Lord. This is direct revelation from God. This is the word of God. Over in Galatians chapter 1, verse number 11, Galatians 1, verse number 11, he says this, For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man, for I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. So here is Paul reiterating the revelation of Christ, the divine truth. They heard the divine truth.

They recognize it not as the word of man, but as it really is the word of God, and it performed its work in them because they believed. They were saved. They were convicted, and they were saved. That's just so rich, right? Well, we get caught up in the church with all the gimmicks and all the games of what it means to get people in, to get them to hear the word of God, but we don't really preach to them the truth of God's word because you're doing all these gimmicks to get them in here. You got to keep them coming back.

You got to give them the truth. What is the truth? How do they respond to that truth? You must give it to them constantly, and so here was the church of Thessalonica who when they heard the words of God, they just could not wait to put out the welcome mat like Mary. They would just sit at the feet of the apostle Paul and listen to divine truth. They were saved. They were born again, and it was effective. I mean, all you got to do is read chapter 1, right? What happened in chapter 1? Their faith worked.

Their love labored. Their hope endured. They became imitators of Christ. God's word triumphed through them and from them, and they turned to God from idols in order to serve the true and living God. I mean, just read chapter 1. Everything about their lives was transformed because they understood the one thing that's necessary, listening to divine truth, putting out the welcome mat, receiving it because it is divine, and responding to it in a way that honors the Lord. That's what they did. The Bible says over in James chapter 1 verse number 19, this you know, my beloved brethren, that everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

That has nothing to do with your relationships to one another. It has everything to do with your relationship to the Word of God because the context is the Word of God. He says in verse number 18, in the exercise of His will, He brought us forth by the Word of truth so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

And so this you know, my beloved brethren, everyone must be quick to the hearing of the Word of God, slow at speaking the Word of God, and even slower at becoming angry at what you hear God's Word say. Why? Because the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, He says. And then He says this, therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word and plan of which is able to save your soul, and prove yourselves to be not just hearers of the Word but doers of the Word.

So many times we're not quick to hear. And James says you need to be very quick at hearing what God says.

Are you that way? I know we are quick to hear the score of the game, right? We're quick to hear the results of what's taking place at whatever investment I have invested my money. We're quick to hear all kinds of things, but are we quick to hear the truth of the Word of God? Some of you might be saying, you know, I come and I hear, and this is the great thing, because at this very moment you are doing the one thing that's necessary. At this very moment you are here listening to divine truth, listening to the Word of God.

At this very moment, some of you of course in the back are sleeping, but the rest of you are hearing what God's Word says. Okay? The question is, how do you respond to that? Very important. You're sitting under the teaching of the Word of God so that you might know what God says for you this day and for the rest of your life.

And so you come today, and what do you hear? You hear this is the necessary thing. This is the one priority, to hear what divine truth says so that I know how to respond to what God is doing, so I can trust Him and believe Him and follow Him. But if you don't hear what He says, you don't know. You don't know. And Peter, that's why Peter says this, because some of you will be here today, and you will say, well, I'm not so sure that the Word of God is doing a work in my life. What I hear, well, Peter addresses that when he says 1 Peter 2 verse number 1, therefore stripping aside or putting aside all wickedness or malice, all deceit, which is deceitfulness, all hypocrisy, which is phoniness, all envy, which is selfishness, and all slander, which is unkindness, like newborn babes long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it, you may grow in respect to salvation.

In other words, you got to lay aside wickedness, malice, slander. You got to lay aside your sin. You don't lay aside your sin, you're not going to welcome what God's Word says, right? You're just not. You're going to remain bitter and angry, resentful, vengeful, unforgiving, unkind, because you haven't dealt with those sins in your life. You can't deal with that, because that's what hinders you from desiring the pure milk of the Word. You've seen babies, they just can't wait to be fed. They scream, they holler, they cry until they are fed.

That's the way we as Christians should be. We should be screaming and hollering all week until we get to a place where we can be fed the food that needs to grow our spirit and our soul towards the living God. Is that the way you want it? That's the way we should be. Let's all be quick to the hearing of the Word. Those in Thessalonica, they just could not put out enough welcome mats to accept what they heard from the Apostle Paul. And they did it, chapter 1, verse 6, with joy amidst much opposition.

With joy amidst much opposition. So I thought about how would I explain to you how it is God effectually works in your life. And I began to list different things that God's Word does. It begins with conviction, right? Because if you're an unbeliever, it doesn't work unless it's the work of conviction, right? And that's 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse number 25, when Paul says these words, he says, if all prophesy and an unbeliever or ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

If you foretell the truth, if you give forth the prophecy, if you give forth the truth of the Word of God, he will be convicted. God's Spirit works in conjunction with the Word of God. In those in Thessalonica, they were convicted. And that conviction led to their salvation, right? That's why the Bible says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by a word concerning the Christ, Romans 10, 17.

That's why Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first, also to the Greek.

So once there's conviction, there's salvation. And with that salvation, number three comes transformation.

Transformation. If there's not a transformation, there's not a salvation. There's not a salvation, there hasn't been a conviction. There's got to be a transformation. Why? If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things, not some things, all things have become new. There is a new creature. You are a new creation. You are a different person. You're not adding Jesus to your existing lifestyle. You are a transformed person. You are a new person. You are a new man.

You're a new woman because you've been forgiven. You've been saved. There's a transformation that takes place. So many times we just take for granted that this transformation is something that is nominal or minimal, excuse me, but it's not. It's not. It's because you're bringing forth fruit. We saw last week in Matthew 13, you're bringing forth fruit some 30, some 60, some 100-fold. And a bumper crop in Israel was tenfold. So there's no discussion about whether or not you know the Lord. It's completely evident to everybody around you.

There's been a transformation. You've been changed because God is in you and you are in Christ. If God is in you, you're no longer the way you were because God will never allow you to be the way you were. He's in there. The Father's in there. The Spirit's in there. We have made our abode with Him, says the Lord in John 14. And so, therefore, He has made us a new creation. There's been a transformation. With that transformation comes the sanctification, that ongoing process by which we are growing deeper and deeper in our walk with the Lord.

John 17 and 17, the Lord says, sanctify them in truth, divine truth, for your word is truth. How are we set apart unto holiness? By the revealed Word of God. That's how. So first comes conviction, then comes salvation, then comes the transformation, then comes that sanctification as we begin to move closer and closer and deeper in our walk with the Lord.

And with that comes maturation. With that comes instruction from the Word of God. With that comes completion. With that comes admonition. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, all Scriptures inspired by God, right? The man of God will be thoroughly completed, thoroughly equipped in every good work. Why? Because with it comes instruction in righteousness. It comes with the understanding of what it means to admonish one another. And so God's Word does all this work in our lives, this transforming work to move us because God's Word effectively works in the believer.

It works for purification. You remain clean through the Word that I've spoken to you, John 15, verse number 3. It works for direction, right? Because God's Word gives us clarity in terms of thought and what to do next and where to go. This is so important. Do you listen to what God says?

Do you hear what God says? If you're a good listener, a good hearer, and you put out the welcome mat and receive what the Word of God says, you will be free from agitation come November 5th.

You'll be free from frustration on November 5th. What's November 5th? That's election day. But if you're not listening to what God says and you decide to do things that are good, not that which is best, like Martha did, the results of the election could frustrate you, agitate you, and get you to say, God, what are you doing?

Do you not care about us? See how easy it is to be a Martha? A lot harder to be a Mary. She was a model follower. Listen to what the Bible says.

The book of Proverbs, the first chapter, Proverbs chapter 1, verse 33, he who listens to me lives securely, lives securely, and will be at ease from the dread of evil.

Isn't that good? Are you listening to what the Lord says? He says this in chapter 8 of Proverbs. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. Blessed is the man who listens to me, who is eagerly waiting, watching, anticipating, anticipating, looking one more time, what does God have to say to me, that I might learn to follow Him in all of His glory and splendor? The church at Thessalonica was a model church because when they heard the Word of God, they received it because they recognized it was the Word of God, not the Word of man.

And they reacted in a way, they responded in a way that proves they listened intently, that their heart was soft because it performed a work in them who believed. Is God performing a work in you who believe? Has there been a transformation of your life? Is there a maturation of your life? Is there direction in your life? Is there a purification of your life? Is there a sanctification of your life? Because you see, that's what happens when God's Word is put before you and you put out the welcome mat.

You don't get angry at what God says. It doesn't do you any good anyway. If God says it, it's true, it's pure, it's right.

My prayer for me and for you is that that would be us. We would be more than just followers of the Lord. We'd be model followers of the Lord who love to hear all that God says and respond in a way that brings glory to His name.

Let's pray together. Father, we thank You for today. Lord, we are grateful for a chance to be here. We realize, Lord, that there is a lot to cover. We can't cover everything in a short 45 minute sermon, but yet Your Word is true, Lord. And our prayer, Father, is for everyone who is here that there not be one among us who doesn't know You as Lord and Savior. They would truly come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. For the rest of us, Lord, help us to choose the one thing that's preeminent, that's necessary, that's the best part.

That is the desire to hear and to listen to what You have to say so that we might respond to who You are, what You do. So important, Lord. Forgive us for closing our ears. Forgive us for being unwilling listeners. Forgive us, Lord, for being distracted, pulled away in every direction to do other things other than the one thing that is necessary, that's to hear the Word of truth. Go before us to stay this week that we might glorify Your precious name. In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.