“A worship acceptable to God (as a mother)"
~ Pastor Biakson
Bible excerpts: Mark 14:3-9 & Luke 10:38-42
Taking the life of Mary (sister of Martha) in the Gospels
Mary here is not the mother of Jesus. Rather she is known as the lady who is always found at Jesus’ feet.
She appeared in 3 different settings in the gospels.
First, she sat at Jesus’ feet listening to what he said at her home while her sister Martha was busy hosting Jesus and his disciples.
Second, she fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Third, she poured on Jesus’ feet a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume and wiped his feet with her hair.
Points to ponder
Are you a mother who is always found at Jesus’ feet like Mary? Are you a wife/ a husband/ a youth/ a family who is found at Jesus’ feet like Mary?
A person who is always found sitting at Jesus’ feet have a changed life. People around them can see their bravery, confidence as depicted in the lives of the disciples, since they were together with Jesus. Their constant fellowship with Jesus enables them to have power, wisdom even though they were illiterate, a testimony testifying that these disciples had been with Jesus. Therefore, like the disciples it is crucial as believers to be at Jesus’ feet so that people around us can see Jesus in us.
Let us ask ourselves:
As mothers, do our family members see us at Jesus’ feet at most times?
Will our story be narrated the same way as Mary, the woman who is always at Jesus’ feet?
Which places have our utmost presence? Will it be at Jesus’ feet or elsewhere?
So, what does it mean to be at Jesus’ feet?
- It means to have continuous communion or fellowship with Jesus
- It means to listen to his words
- To honor and give him highest praise
1. Continuous fellowship with Jesus
Having continuous communion or fellowship with Jesus means:
- Making time for God a priority; Talk with God; and walk humbly with God
- We should put God first thing in our lives and have constant connection with Jesus at a personal level. Amidst the busy schedule we ran after, let us consider what takes most of our time. Are those times spend with God? Is God our priority? Or just like Martha are we overtaken by our daily targets?
Mark 5:15 reads, ‘the man possessed by the legions of demons sitting there, dressed and in his right mind.’ We can see an encounter with Jesus resulted in a changed live. A life that drives the healed to sit at his healer’s feet. Are we in our right minds sit at Jesus’ feet? How crucial it has been lately to be in our right minds? We struggle daily for right thinking. Little did we know, only at the feet of Jesus can we have a completely right mind. A right mind knows who the healer is and praise him. Take the example of the 10 lepers who were healed. Only one came back to thank the Healer. We live in a world where most people wander off like the 9 lepers overshadowed by their own search for healing and completeness forgetting where the healing comes from in the first place.
So, Mothers, do we learn to thank Jesus our healer in our right mind? Or do we just forget his grace once we got our healing?
- Our greatest challenge as a believer has been to serve in ministries, live a good life, and do evangelism without adopting the habit of sitting at Jesus’ feet. No wonder our labor often resulted in vain. Jesus’ purpose for his disciples was first and foremost his fellowship with them, although spreading the good news was equally important. A companionship with the Lord in constant communication is the worship that is most acceptable in our Lord’s eyes. As Dottie Rambo wrote in her song, “I just came to talk with you Lord,” let talking with our Lord be our priority as mothers & as believers.
- Communication with God further leads to a humble walk with him. God calls us to walk humbly with him as written in Micah 6:8. Fellowship also means humbly walking together. Only in agreement can two people walk together (Amos 3:3) So, let us consider why we often stumble in our walk with God? Could it be our disagreement with the principles God laid for us?
2. To listen to his words – an acceptable worship
We live in a world where we turn deaf ear to one another. Moreover, we complain about getting busier each day due to work, and numerous interests we have developed for ourselves. So, we barely spare time to listen to God’s word. However, an acceptable worship is to be still before God and listen to what he says through his words and meet him there. A pastor in the Philippines says, “meeting God doesn’t mean you set a time for God to come and speak to you according to your availability. Rather, it is to wait on God by meditating on his word and be still.” As Psalms 1 teaches us, our limited access to God’s word often resulted in walking, standing, and sitting in the counsel of the wicked, which the Lord abhors. Therefore, as the Psalmist says, we should meditate on God’s word and think about his word by listening to it day & night. That way, our worship will be acceptable to God just like Mary’s.
3. To love and give God the highest honor- an acceptable worship
An acceptable worship is to Love God the most, and to give him highest honor. Mary expressed her Love for Jesus and honor him by breaking an expensive perfume and poured it at Jesus’ feet while wiping his feet with her hair. She expressed her complete surrender to her Lord, by giving away all she had. Moreover, she wiped his feet with her hair. Hair symbolizes women’s glory. Mary is willing to sacrifice her glory and use it to please her master. She washes Jesus’ feet with the glory she was given. What a beautiful worship! A worship acceptable to God comprises true worship where pride, power, and excellence are all surrendered just as Mary did. True worship means to be an obedient servant of Jesus, readily walking humbly according to his will.
Conclusion
Let us ask what distract us from having true worship? Even though good work and issues concerning our families and community’s wellbeing were important; we should prioritize the more acceptable worship and rethink our ways of worship. How can my worship be more acceptable to God? What should I surrender and let go from my own selfish agendas? As David says, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord that cost me nothing.” What sacrifice can we give to the Lord we love? What cost are we willing to pay? Just like Mary, let us adopt the habit of sitting at Jesus’ feet and experience an acceptable worship that is pleasing to our Lord.
Gamchiam | May 26, 2019 Sermon Video
