S2 Episode 18 | Which are you?

S2 Episode 18 | Which are you? In this episode Leon discusses Luke chapter 10 and how we identify sometimes as the M sisters.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Unqualified Podcast with Leon Wilson. That's me. Thank you for stopping by. And thank you for all the support you've you've given me for this ministry and and just being incredible people. Like I honestly will say that um I never thought we'd be a year or whatever it is. And and you know, here we are a year later. And I it's just amazed me that that the Lord has poured into something like this. Um if you ever have doubts about stepping into ministry and and trying to push forward in a way that you feel like the Lord is inspiring you, you uh take this as just a small bit of an example of what the Lord can do. And uh I'm not saying that this is um uh successful financially or anything else. I'm not saying all that. No, uh this is not a business. I do not run this as a business or anything. I haven't made a dime at this, um, and I and I probably never will. It's I didn't do it for that. I did it so that if if in some way I can encourage one person to push forward, then it's worth it. If I can encourage somebody to step out into ministry, then it's all worth it. If I can encourage somebody to take um one moment and reflect a little bit and and come to the saving knowledge of Christ, and you know, then it's all worth it. That's that's what matters to me. Well, that and you know, encouraging somebody that is in a pit of despair and and they feel like, man, I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with my life and all that. This is for you. Um and God has used it and God's loved on it and loved through it, and He's gonna keep on doing that, I have no doubt. So I'm gonna keep on plugging away. But I'm so glad that you came by. I'm uh glad that um there's there's just so much going on in our church and everything else. And um today I preached on um uh it's the book of Luke, chapter 10, and and it's the last five verses of the by of that uh book, and uh it's it's um chapter 10, verses 38 through I believe it's 42. So um I'm just gonna read it and then I'm I'm gonna talk to you a little bit about it. But it says, Now it came to pass as they went that he entered into a certain village, talking about Jesus, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house, and she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard it, heard his word. But Martha was cumbered with about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she should help me, that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Leon, what's all this mean? I'm glad you asked. So Mary and and Martha, I I call them the M sisters, um they they at this house, it's Martha's house, and she invites Jesus in, and Jesus comes in and he starts talking. And so while he's talking, here comes Mary, sits down, just chilling, listening to what Jesus has to say. And Martha, um, the Bible says is cumbered. It says, and she had a she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word, but Martha was cumbered, which means uh burdened. She was burdened because she was doing all this serving. And I today my my service, my I I just preached expositorily and um, you know, just straight out of the Bible from the Bible is what that's uh what that means is um I just read the scripture and and preached a scripture out of the Bible. And so I didn't have notes or anything like that. But I I felt inspired to do it that way because there's so much meat there that um that and the Lord knew, you know, like hey, he's gonna have here's the substance I'm gonna give you, and I'm gonna inspire you, and I want you to preach it. So I did. But here's the thing like uh as far as like you know, team Martha or Team Mary, um, you know, my my concern is that we get wrapped up and we want to point out that Martha's been fussing and and things like that, but you know, we don't we don't acknowledge the fact that when we're serving the Lord, we have a lot of Martha's around us. And and in this case, you know, Mary didn't Mary was just trying to listen to Jesus. Martha get you know gets burdened about this because you know she's the only one doing and and things like that, and we've all been there, we've all felt like that. But and she comes to Jesus and she's like, tell her to come help me. Tell her that she needs to serve you by serving me or and or serving with me. And this is where I want to camp out for the part for the podcast. It should not be a burden for the Christian that someone else worships different than we do. And if you're going to fuss about how other people are worshiping, then you you should be concerned because you know their their worship affects your worship. And why even invite Jesus into the house if all you're gonna do is fuss about how other people are serving him? And and that's that's kind of like I guess the nuke the nuclear question is you know, we get we get hung up on how other people are serving the Lord, what they're doing in their ministry, and what you know, what other people are doing in their ministry, and and all this other that and we decide we want to be team this or team that, I want to be team Martha, I want to be team Mary, I want to be team, you know, Vanilla Hope Baptist Church, or I want to be uh team um chocolate hope baptist church or or you know um Sprinkles Pentecostal Church or you know whatever. And and the problem is if you would just serve the Lord how you can serve the Lord, where you can serve the Lord and mind your business, then their walk wouldn't bother you. It wouldn't affect you in one way or the other. And that's that's I think the the point of this walk is that you know we're we're all fine serving the Lord, and we all get cumbered, we all get overburdened, we all get um tired, and we all get in into uh cycles that we feel like you know are weighing us down and and all that. And and that's normal, that's life. That's that's what it is. But I mean, when someone else is, you know, when you're serving, here's the thing serving is a is a labor. It's not just um serving is not like uh if you're not getting war out, war slap out serving, then you're leaving a lot on the table. Um and how much are you actually giving to the Lord? And and my my concern is that in today's world, you know, we think of ministry as um I'm gonna serve on the um music ministry or whatever, I'm gonna sing and and now I'm you know, now I'm in ministry, or I'm gonna um you know, I'm I'm gonna be part of this pizza party and and now I'm in ministry, or I'm gonna help, you know, put this pizza party together and now I'm in ministry. You know, ministry isn't an event. Ministry isn't Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. That's not ministry. Ministry is a constant conscious effort uh to move the needle for the Lord. It is to um to take the bull by the horns. It is to uh put work in. And and this work, this labor for the Lord, this 24-7 calling, um isn't without repentance. And you're not you're not called to just sit on the sidelines and then wait until Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and and Wednesday to you know just do something for the Lord. You know, it's gonna it's gonna be inconvenient in your secular part of your life. Um it it costs, there's a cost to it, there's a burden to it, and that's the gravity of ministry. And in some cases, yeah, you're just there to witness whatever's happening. Um, I heard a preacher talk about um, you know, what kind of weddings people are going to, and and that as a Christian, even attending a wedding is uh has gravity to it because you attending the wedding is literally being a witness to what this marriage is supposed to be, and it's you basically saying, I give this person um, you know, I I I back this, I support this wedding. And uh there are like there are people who um are Christian who go to um you know perverse weddings and and stuff like that, and um and they're like all in for it. And and you have to you have to ask the question, you know, do I agree with this wedding or do I not agree with this wedding? If I don't agree with this wedding, then I'm not coming to the wedding. I will send you a card with a Bible quote on it and say, you know, I love you. And um, you know, but I'm not donating to this household if I don't agree with it. I'm not donating to this wedding if I don't agree with it. I'm not going to support this wedding if I don't agree with it. And I don't care if that makes me unpopular or if it makes me popular for reasons that, you know, whatever, you know, if my name's attached to it at all, um, I want it to glorify the Lord. And and you have to, you have to decide that's a hill you're willing to die on. And so um in in ministry, and the reason I said all that, in ministry, when you when you are out and about, even if you're at Walmart or whatever, you're representing the Lord because you're not just so-and-so who warms a pew anymore. You are in ministry. Like I am a pastor of a church, I have a podcast ministry. I am, you know, I do other things um in ministry. I sing and and I also uh do evangelism work sometimes, but you know, I am I am a man of God first, and I'm a husband second, and then I'm whatever falls from that under that, you know, is on down, but a father, uh, you know, and a plant manager or whatever. I'm I'm just but I am a man of God first. And if I'm going to advocate for something, it has to be in alignment with the Bible. And that's not something that I'm willing to just bend or compromise on, because if I do, then you know it what's the point? I might as well just do my own thing if that's if I'm only going to do what makes me uh politically acceptable unto the masses. And so all that is a is a very extensive way of saying if you're going to serve the Lord, get it in your heart to do it with everything you've got. It's not just a one to three services a week conversation that you're having with the Lord, it is a statement saying, Lord, I'm I want to do work for you all the time, whatever that is, and bring it on. Now here's the dark side. You ready? Being in ministry puts a target on you from the enemy, and it also puts one on you from people that you think are your friends. When my wife and I stepped out into ministry full time, um we had to we essentially had to say goodbye to a lot of friends because people we thought we were close with barely checked on us if at all. And um, you know, we we were not invited to a lot of parties if that if anything, and and we weren't invited to um, you know, to eat as much with people anymore. We weren't invited to people's houses um as much if if at all. And that's the way it was. And and so we had to get used to it just being us, which is fine because we're probably the most extroverted introverts you could meet. Um, we love being together and and being by ourselves. It doesn't bother us one bit. I think what bothered some people is the fact that that didn't bother us, you know, because they would hit us up asking how um, you know, how we were doing and everything and and stuff, but they or how the church was, but we could really tell that they, you know, they were just being nosy. And it it's like that, man. And and that's ministry. Ministry can be a very lonely walk, but you always have the Lord. Um, and then you look at how some of uh some of these churches are, you know, like even if you have 5,000 people, you can feel lonely um in ministry. And and that's that, you know, being a pastor is is not the easiest thing I've ever done. Um, it's not something I would recommend just anybody be like seeking a future in because it is a calling and it comes with a very heavy burden. And that burden, um, I liken it to having a big backpack on, and you're where you have everybody's problems going in the backpack. And if you got a full-time job like I do, um you got to deal with that too. So you got to tote all this stuff around all the time, and you know, they ain't there ain't much anybody else can do to help you with that. That's just that's the burden. So um it's what you sign up for. Um, and that's why a lot of a lot of pastors do it full time, um, is because it is a full-time job, it is not like a uh just a simple, it's it's a calling. Either you're gonna do it or you're not, but um, I think that's where you separate those who are truly called and those who are not, is that you know, if you're truly called, it the money doesn't mean anything. If you're truly called and it's you've got the burden, you just want to help people and you just want to lead them to Christ. And um there's a lot of gravity to that, a lot. So with um with this text, I also want to uh point out um when I read Jesus' reply to Martha, I read it in today's context. So let me do that for you. Martha's over here fussing, and she's just blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. And that's that's you know, just I told the church, I said, This is how y'all sound when you fuss. But blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I mean, just going and going and going, and Jesus finally is like, Martha, Martha. That's how I read that. So Martha, Martha, thou thou art careful and troubled about many things, meaning I get and acknowledge that you got a lot going on. He says, but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Look, I understand you got problems, Martha. I understand you're feeling like uh, you know, you've you've just got too much going on and you're overwhelmed. But there is something that is going on, and it's good, and Mary needs that, and I'm not gonna let you mess that up for her. So Martha pointed out that Mary had been helping her and then left and went to Jesus and sat at his feet listening. We don't know who else is there. We know he's got 12 disciples. We know that there were 70 disciples that had been sent out and that had returned to give him a report and all this other, so we don't know how many people were in this house. All we know is that Mary's there with Jesus at his feet, and Martha's doing what Martha's do, trying to do what Martha and Mary were supposed to be doing as a team, and then Mary gets gone, and Martha finds her at the foot of Jesus listening to him, and Martha's overwhelmed, got a lot going on, and only has two hands, and can't seem to find her sister who's supposed to be helping her, and you know now she finds her at the foot of Jesus, and all of a sudden, she's fussing, and then Jesus cuts her off and says, Listen, you got a lot going on. I got you. But Mary's doing what she needs to do, and I'm not gonna let you mess that up. And so my question is if you're ever finding yourself overwhelmed and you're looking at other people and how they're worshiping the Lord, wondering how they're getting blessed and you're not getting blessed, maybe they've made it to the point where they're at the feet of Jesus, and you've made it to the point where you're in the Martha kind of moment, but it ain't gonna take long before you're gonna be done with the serving and able to be at the feet of the master to get served, and how you are worshiping, how you are serving the Lord, it comes with the merry moment, but you gotta get through the Martha moment, and that's easier said than done. But here's the thing Jesus acknowledges your struggles. He did it for Martha, but he also acknowledges your needs and that you need to be ministered to, which is why he acknowledged Mary. So, whatever stage of life and in ministry that you are in, it's a season. And sometimes you got to go through one thing to go through the other. You can invite Jesus into your home, you're wanting to serve him, you seem like you're doing it all by yourself, you don't have any help, and then when you do find people, they're worshiping in their own ways, and they ain't got time for you. We have to remember that the Lord hasn't put us on a time limit. He's not saying, Martha, I'm coming in your house, but you got to be ready here in 22 minutes. He hasn't said that. Jesus is uh saying, give me what you got. If you woke up this morning and all you have is 60%, give him the 60%. If you woke up this morning and all you have is 35%, give him the 35%. If you've got a hundred, give him a hundred. Give him what you got. You can only do what you can do. And he knows that. He knows what you're capable of. He knows if you're holding back. But pour out what you got. And have your Martha moment, have your merry moment. Try to make the Martha moments less and less, and and definitely don't try to show out. But if you've got a problem, you're overwhelmed, you come to the right person, come to Jesus and give it to him. Hey, I know you got a lot going on, is what Jesus is saying. But don't give up whatever you do. Give it to the Lord, keep plugging away, sooner or later you're gonna be right there. To foot of Jesus. Listening to what he has to say. And believe you me, everything the Lord has to say is worth listening to. Listen, I love you. God loves you. This has been the Unqualified Podcast with Leon Wilson.