Charles Stanley delves into the essence of Christian life, revealing how crucial it is for believers to have a strong desire for fellowship with Jesus Christ. He reflects on the biblical narrative of Mary and Martha, showing how their choices highlight the significance of prioritizing one’s relationship with Christ above all else. Packed with powerful scriptural references and practical advice, this episode is a guide to nurturing a deeply rewarding spiritual connection.
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, February 24th. Today’s podcast helps you understand the Lord’s attitude toward you. Believe it or not, He wants your friendship.
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What would you consider the greatest need in the life of a believer? Well, somebody might say, well, certainly to pray would be the greatest need. Or someone might say, surely to read the Word of God would be the greatest need. Or to serve the Lord in some fashion. Or to exercise your spiritual gift. Surely to worship would be the most important thing of all. Well, all of those answers are good answers. But I think the Bible is really rather clear about what is the most important, the greatest thing that you and I can do in the Christian life as far as our relationship with God is concerned. So I want you to turn, if you will, to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. And beginning in verse 38, we’ll read through the 42nd verse. Luke chapter 10, verse 38 through 42. The scripture says, now, as they were traveling along, that is Jesus and his apostles, he entered a certain village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at his feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations, and 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 a few things are necessary, really only one. But Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Now, for a little background, Jesus and his disciples are on their way probably to Jerusalem because oftentimes he would go through Bethany to Jerusalem. And so he decided to stop in at the house of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, who were friends of his. And the Bible says that not only were they friends of his, but the Bible says very clearly that he loved them. And more than likely, this was a place that he could find rest and relaxation and fellowship and intimacy with these people whom he loved very dearly. And so, on this particular occasion, when he stops in, they’re going to serve him a meal. And he has come, more than likely, for fellowship as well as for the meal. Now, we think about fellowship. We think about, oftentimes… how we relate to each other, or maybe particular people that you and I can fellowship with. And all of us have those people that we can fellowship with. And so when we think about that, we think about Jesus, though He was divine, He also was human enough to desire and to need fellowship with other people. So in the light of this passage of Scripture and what’s happening here, I want us to see what God would have to say to us about the most important thing in the believers life because the most important activity in the life of the believer is our fellowship with jesus christ nothing is as important as that nothing even compares with that and here’s a good example of an incident in which i believe jesus makes that very clear And so in looking at this passage of Scripture, what I want us to see, first of all, here’s this. And that is that every single believer should have a strong desire to fellowship with our Lord. And fellowship simply means there is a sense of closeness. There is a mutual interest. There is a mutual interest in things that would concern us, our beliefs, our experiences, things that grab our attention in life. And that fellowship, when it becomes more intense, it becomes more intimate. need fellowship with other people, and so Jesus was indeed likewise one who desired and needed fellowship, and he found somehow in this particular home that kind of relationship. And if you’ll notice, if you’ll turn to John chapter 12, 11 and 12 for a moment, you might want to fold down these pages because we’ll come back to them. What you notice in this 11th chapter, The scripture says, now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So when our passage in Luke says that he was entering a certain village, it was the city of Bethany, about two miles southeast of Jerusalem. And so usually when he was on his way to Jerusalem, he would naturally stop in here. And if you’ll notice in the second verse, Verse, it says, and it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Verse 5 says, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. So this was a home in which he felt a great deal of being at ease, in which he felt very welcome. And this passage says that when he came upon the scene, that Martha welcomed him into her home. Now, you and I might ask the question, Why should we have a strong desire to fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, we can’t see him. We can’t touch him. Well, I think there’s several reasons. And when it comes to fellowshipping and developing an intimate relationship with him, a lot of reasons that we should have a strong desire as a believer. First of all, look who he is. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the one who came into this world and died on the cross for your sins and mine in order that we might be forgiven of our sin. He is the one who is now abiding and living within us. He is the one who is in heaven interceding in our behalf. He is the one in heaven who is preparing a place for us. And he’s the one with whom we’re going to spend all eternity. And so when you think about the fact that he’s abiding in us and we’re abiding in him, that he’s our friend, that we are a part of his family, that we have a mutual father, our heavenly father. and the fact that we’re going to spend eternity with Him, these are some good reasons that you and I should desire to spend some time fellowshipping with Him. There is no time in the life of the believer that is more rewarding than spending time fellowshipping with the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing more important, nothing more rewarding, nothing more fulfilling than spending time with Him. And yet, it’s probably the one thing most believers spend the least of their time doing. We become so busy, so active in doing the work of God, serving Him in some fashion or doing all the other things in life that require time. If you’ll think about it, how much time do you spend alone just fellowshipping with the Lord Jesus Christ? It is life’s most important activity for the Christian. And so we say, well, how can we relate to him? Well, for example, when you and I pray, we talk to our Heavenly Father. We talk to the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. And so we can talk with him. We can also listen to him. You say, well, I’ve never heard him speak. Well, probably because you haven’t taken time to listen. But I’m here to tell you, my friend, God does still speak by his spirit to our spirit to his children. So one of the ways that we can fellowship with him is in prayer. A second way we can fellowship with him is in his word. I don’t simply mean just reading a passage of scripture so that you can say you’ve read the Bible or you’ve read so many chapters, but fellowshipping with him in the word means that you are reading the word of God. And as you’re reading, that you are asking him to speak to your heart, to apply it to your life, to instruct you, to be sure you understand what he’s saying. You want to love him, to teach you how to love him, how to relate to him. And so what you do is you read the words, you sort of pray it back to him, talk to him about it. You say, well, Lord, here’s what you said. I don’t quite understand that. I need to understand what you’re saying. How do I explain that? How do I apply this to my life, Lord? How am I going to be able to live that? And so as you fellowship with him over his word, a third way you fellowship with him, of course, is in worship, when you and I worship together. Now, when you’re lifting up your heart to him and sharing your, not only your voice, but your innermost being with him, something comes back. And that’s why there’s joy and there’s a sense of intimacy and there’s a sense of uplifting and there’s a sense of worship and praise and all the things that go on between our Lord and us while we are worshiping him in song. So when we talk about how to fellowship with him, you can even fellowship with him in serving him. You say, well, how can I fellowship with the Lord if I’m actively doing something? By being aware of the fact that you’re absolutely dependent upon him while you’re doing it, talking to him, listening to him, asking for instructions. What should I do here, Lord? And so what’s happening? There’s something going on between you and the Lord Jesus Christ. He desires that you and I have fellowship with him. It is, listen, the fellowship. greatest need in the life of the believer, second to none. There’s not anything that matches that as far as importance in the life of the believer. When we neglect it, some things happen to our lives. When we become involved in the way we ought to, something also happens good. Now, the Bible is very clear, and I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and this is a very significant verse. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 9. He says, God is faithful through whom you are called in the fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Just like he calls us. That is, it is the will and plan and purpose of God that we are saved. So he calls us unto salvation. The only people who are saved are those whom God calls and who listen to him and respond accordingly. And so he not only calls us to be saved, he calls us into sanctification and live a holy life. He says he calls us into what? He calls us into fellowship with his son. So everyone should have a strong desire. Every believer should have a strong desire to fellowship with him. But if that’s the case, here’s what you’ll discover. Something in this passage that is so clear. And that’s this. If you and I choose to fellowship with him, we may have to leave some things in life undone. Now, I think this passage is a good example of that. And I want you to notice what’s happening here. Because this is a choice that Mary, the youngest sister in this family, made. And if you’ll notice, the 42nd verse of this 10th chapter of Luke now says, Jesus talking to Martha said, but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part. And what I want you to see here is that Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. This was a choice she made. She made a choice to sit at Jesus’ feet. Now, what I want you to notice here also is the fact that as she sits at Jesus’ feet, she’s doing three things that I’m going to ask you to give me back as soon as I give them to you. So listen very carefully. She was doing three things sitting at his feet. She was listening, she was learning, and she was loving. All three of them are important. She was listening, she was learning, and she was loving. And when you and I spend time with him, we ought to be doing the same thing. We ought to be listening, we ought to be learning, and we ought to be loving him for who he is that God would condescend to take time to spend time with you and me individually and personally in our life. Now, when you and I do that, we’re going to have to leave some things undone. I don’t believe anybody will be able to spend the time that is necessary in order to be what God wants us to be, to be the persons He wants us to be, to accomplish the things in life He wants us to accomplish. We are not going to be able to do it and do it well and do it successfully within a long-lasting consequence unless we spend time with Him. Now, watch this. Listen. The degree to which we are successful in whatever God calls us to do will be determined to a great degree by the time we spend alone with Him. Because what happens? That’s where we get our focus. And when our focus gets off of Him, things happen to us that we’ll see in this passage. That helps us to keep ourselves anchored to Him, focused on Him. It enables us to become the persons God wants us to be and to do the things He wants us to do. And to the same degree… to which we diminish in our time with Him, so we will diminish in our success of whatever we do in life, whether it is being a mother, whether it is being a father, husband, wife, in your business or ministry, whatever it may be. It is the time that we spend with Him that makes all the difference in the world. And so here’s what we find. We find that Mary, knowing that Jesus was coming, She had been in the kitchen with her sister. And you say, well, now, wait a minute. It doesn’t seem very fair that Mary is out here at the feet of Jesus and Martha’s not doing all the work. Well, I believe it’s pretty evident in looking at the life of Jesus that he had already sent word ahead that he would be there and that he would bring his disciples with him. Now, I believe that for two or three reasons, one of which is not in the scripture, and that’s this. Can you imagine Jesus being thoughtful and kind as he was and considerate that he’d ever knock on the door and say, well, hello, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. I’m here with all my 12 disciples for lunch, for dinner. No, I can’t imagine him saying that because that would have been very unfair to Mary and Martha and Lazarus. It would have caught them off guard. Now, go back, if you will, to Luke chapter 9. And I’ll give you a good reason to believe in that. Because the ninth chapter of Luke says, Jesus now on his way to Jerusalem. And it came about in verse 51. And it came about when the days were approaching for his ascension that he resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead of him saying, And they went and entered the village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. So they were preparing the meal and more than likely the meal had been prepared. And before the serving time came, because look at what Martha says. The scripture says that Martha, in verse 40, was distracted with all her preparations. And she came up to Jesus and said to him, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Now, more than likely, the meal was prepared. They haven’t started serving yet. And so when the meal was finished, well, Mary just went and sat down at the feet of Jesus because… That’s what her desire was. She felt the need to do so. And I want to show you in a few moments why that was so very important to Jesus as well as to Mary. And so she left the serving alone. When you look at that passage, you say, well, that doesn’t seem to be fair. Yes, it was, and I’ll show you why in a moment. But let’s think about this for a moment. And that is any mother, any woman who has children, or even if she doesn’t, you know as well as I do that it doesn’t make a difference how early you get up or how late you go to bed. There’s still something to be done, right? Likewise in business, it makes no difference what your task may be. There’s always something left to be done. There’s more of this and more of that and something here and something there. And a person who really wants to get ahead in life and do their best and does not just want to do what is expected of them only, there’s always more to be done. So that you will never just find time to fellowship with the Lord. You’ve got to carve it out. You’ve got to make it a priority. You’ve got to set aside time. You have to make choices. their choices that have to be made when people say well i don’t have time i just don’t have time to sit around read the bible that’s not a very good phrase because nobody’s asked you to sit around read the bible we’re talking about you loving the lord jesus christ enough and so much that you make that a priority in your life first of all because you love him enough and you want to spend time with him secondly because it is the most important event in your life and there’s nothing that even comes close to that in your christian experience we get busy What we don’t realize is this. You can get so busy, you can become barren in your business, even if you’re serving the Lord. No pastor has an excuse, no matter how busy we are, to say, well, you know, I don’t have time to spend much time in prayer and Bible study because I’m so busy serving God. God will not accept that. Doesn’t make any difference. Well, I’m so busy studying for the sermons, I just don’t have time to pray. God will never accept that. The most important life of the pastor, the most important life of the mother, most important part of the life of any person is time spent in fellowshipping, listening and reading and praying and talking and serving and fellowshipping with him in worship. the most important thing. But if you do that, you’re going to have to leave some things undone. Now, listen, I imagine when you and I come to the end of life and we know that life is coming to a close, maybe rather soon if we live in that kind of a situation, die in that kind of a situation, more than likely every single believer who faces that will say more than likely or think this, oh, how I wish I had spent more time fellowshipping with the Lord, getting to know him because I’m about ready to meet him and I’m going to spend all eternity with him. And I’ve been so busy doing this and buying that and going on and dressing this way and doing these things. And we will recall all the things we found ourselves doing and so many things we were involved in and trying to please this person and doing that and doing the other to the neglect of the most important person in our life. Because you see, nothing is more important. I’ll tell you something else. In the eyes of Almighty God, there is no desire in the heart of Jesus greater than the desire that you and I spend time loving Him. Why didn’t He create us? He doesn’t need me. He doesn’t need you. The very reason that our Lord created us was what? In order to fellowship with us and to receive our love and to love Him in return. He wants to love us. He wants our love. He desires our love. And have you thought about this? There is not anybody in the who can take your place in loving him. Why? Because he wants love from all of us. You can’t love Jesus for me, and I can’t love Jesus for you. I can’t fellowship with him for you, and you can’t fellowship with him for me. It is something he desires. He longs for that, for all of us. You say, well, now, Jesus, he doesn’t have any needs. And I mean, after all, why does he long for fellowship? He created us for that purpose. I don’t think any of us understand. I’m sure I don’t fully understand by a long shot. How he must desire and long for fellowship and to sense our love and to sense our attention and to be sensitive to him and to want him and to desire to be yielded to him. I don’t think any of us understand that. That’s what he wants from us. Service and things and all the things that we do, that’s secondary to him. What he wants is us. He wants the person. He wants the heart. He wants the spirit. He wants the soul. He wants our being, not what we do. What we do for him will come in its rightful place. But if we do all these things and he doesn’t have us, then we’ve missed it. And likewise, he’s missed it. So I ask you a question. Where does that activity, where is its priority in your life? You see, none of us can say, I am too busy. We all have to say, I’ve made choices that cut him out. I’ve made choices that left him out. I’ve made choices that minuscule the time I spend with him. I tell you again, our success in whatever we do will be related to the time we spend alone, listening, anchored to, focused upon, talking with him.
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Thank you for listening to Fellowship with Jesus. If you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
