Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Choosing what Matters (Luke 10:38-42)
0 Plays1 second ago
Sunday Message recorded 02 November 2025
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Session Opening and Updates
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, good morning, everyone. It's good to see you guys. If you have your Bibles, go open them up to Luke chapter 10. That's where we're going to be spending our time this morning in the Word of God.
00:00:18
Speaker
But man, the heart of worship, that song gets me every time. I feel like we could say that about a lot of worship songs, but I appreciate that song selection, Marsha, because of, y'all have been with us over the last several weeks. many you guys know Victor's been out. He's been on sabbatical. And Lord willing, he'll be back with us this week, and he'll be back next Sunday.
Living Unashamed and Self-Assessment
00:00:39
Speaker
so But we've been, while he's been out, we've had some incredible guys step into the pulpit. Not just myself. I'm not trying to boast about man me being incredible. But i mean we had Mark Vickers up here share the word with us. And we also had Stephen Mick share with us a few weeks. And the last couple of weeks in particular, though, the message that was given by Stephen Mick has was absolutely incredible. It hit me to the heart.
00:01:07
Speaker
And I pray hit all of you to the heart. And again, I'm just going to put this out there. For those of you guys who were not able to be here throughout any of these last few weeks, if you want to go back and listen to some of these sermons online, go to our website, fbccolumbustx.org. All of our sermons are posted online and and on YouTube. So I highly encourage you to go back and listen to them just because...
00:01:28
Speaker
the The message in which Stephen hit on the last two weeks of being unashamed by looking at Romans 1.16 was unique in the fact that, you know, when we hear about living unashamed with with that particular text of Romans 1.16,
00:01:43
Speaker
we have a tendency of thinking, okay, how can we x how can we be unashamed exteriorly, right? How can we use our life in a manner that is just on fire for the Lord and how we can display it to our community? How can we display it for our world? Things like this, right? But what Stephen did is that he took this and he actually, instead of looking outward, he turned it inward.
00:02:05
Speaker
In order for us to truly live an unashamed life of the gospel, as Paul was declaring, we first have to do a self-assessment.
Stephen Mick's Sermon and Internal Shame
00:02:14
Speaker
We have to figure out where we are spiritually before the presence of God, before we can actually go out and try to declare the goodness of God unashamedly.
00:02:26
Speaker
In order for us to truly live on mission and on purpose and to have a heart of worship, we have to understand that there's nothing inside of us that is inherently good.
00:02:38
Speaker
We are wicked. All of us fall short to the glory of God. But yet the moment that we can ah take that assessment test and realize how wicked we are truly on the inside, that's when we're able to actually begin to establish a true foundation in Christ to where that we can then build upon it to live a life that is unashamed of the gospel.
00:03:02
Speaker
And only way we can do that is through humble submission to the Holy Spirit in our lives. and And one of the things that Stephen was hitting on, and the reason why recapping this because I really do feel like it plays into what we're looking at today in Luke chapter 10, which is incredible to see how all these themes tie together.
Mary and Martha: A Call for Reflection
00:03:18
Speaker
But one of the things that we have to assess is our shame, is that the past, the things that we're not proud of. right? The things that hold us back from truly surrendering, making it seem like we're not good enough to be on mission and to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.
00:03:36
Speaker
But the moment we realize that God's grace is most sufficient to cover any inadequacy or any sin in our life, that's where true transformation begins. And that's where the foundation is laid.
00:03:48
Speaker
And that's when we can truly begin living an unashamed life. And the reason why I want to bring this in is because the today's text that we're looking at is going to Luke chapter 10. This is a text that many of us probably are very well aware of and very familiar with because we often compare ourselves to one of the two main characters in this parable or in this story. Not parable, but in this story, right?
00:04:07
Speaker
It's the encounter of Mary and Martha in the presence of Jesus.
00:04:13
Speaker
And the goal of this text today is I want us to look at both these characters and I want us to do another self-assessment of where we're at. Where are we at spiritually right now? Are we still allowing the things in our lives, whether it's our past or or or maybe it's our motivations in life, to to make us to feel like we need to perform like Martha?
00:04:38
Speaker
Where like we have to earn God's grace, or maybe we have to earn redemption because of our past. Or are we like Mary?
00:04:49
Speaker
When experiencing Jesus, all we can do is be consumed by the presence of God and sit at his feet and not in our own abilities.
Prayer and Presence Over Performance
00:05:02
Speaker
So let's look at this text together. If you guys wouldn't mind standing with me, we're going to read this text and we'll jump into it.
00:05:14
Speaker
So picking up in verse 38 of chapter 10, it says this, Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.
00:05:29
Speaker
But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me alone to serve? Tell her then to help me.
00:05:41
Speaker
But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.
00:05:52
Speaker
Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. Will you guys pray with me? Father God, we come before you, Lord, and I just pray that this morning that we will just acknowledge where we're at spiritually before you.
00:06:09
Speaker
Lord, that if there's any kind of performance-driven mentality or or spirit in us, Father, that you will reveal it to us, that we will surrender it to you and bring us into your presence the way that you desire us to as Mary.
00:06:24
Speaker
But Lord... I pray, though, that this morning that you would just reveal the different aspects of our lives, that we do need to surrender to you, that we yeah we we can truly walk by faith, that we can truly live a life that is unashamed of the gospel and on mission and i on purpose for you.
00:06:40
Speaker
God, just be with us during this time. Reveal yourself to us. This in Jesus' name. Amen. You guys may be seated. So as I said, this is a text that many of us are probably really well aware of and familiar with, right? As I said, we oftentimes like to categorize ourselves as either we're like Martha, where we're just we like to be busy, we like to make sure that we have all of our ducks in the row you know when it comes to how we operate. Or maybe some of of us are like Mary, where we're little bit more laid back. Or maybe we're when we get focused on one thing, we become one-track-minded.
00:07:18
Speaker
Right? And on both sides, let's be honest, if you fit in the category of the Martha side, you look at the Marys and you're like, I cannot believe this. Do they not see? You turn into a Martha. you Do they not see what I'm doing? Whereas those who are in the Mary category, you're just like looking at butterflies and you just don't even care what Martha's saying. Right? You know? It's it's one of these two categories.
00:07:41
Speaker
But it's it's really good for us, though, to stop and assess where we're at. Because there's... there's A lot of times we look at Martha we and we like to to really break her down and make it seem like what
Distractions and Spiritual Focus
00:07:56
Speaker
she's doing was wrong. And what we ultimately see is that nothing that she was doing was inherently wrong.
00:08:01
Speaker
Right? She just wanted to serve the Lord. And she wanted to do it with what she knew how to do. And that was by serving. Whereas Mary, she wanted to serve the Lord in the best way she could. That was by giving her her presence.
00:08:14
Speaker
But what we're gonna see here though, is that the Lord reveals to us the danger in what Martha was doing while also acknowledging the good that Mary did as an example.
00:08:24
Speaker
So there's two things I want us to to look at here in this passage today, if you don't mind throwing that up there. So there's one, I want us to prioritize presence over tasks.
00:08:36
Speaker
presence over tasks. And then number two is we need to understand that within finding this balance, we need to choose the better portion. And we need to need to identify what that better portion is, right?
00:08:48
Speaker
But that first thing there, prioritizing presence over tasks, this is a really big concept for us to understand because we live in such a culture that is so busy, that is so distracted.
00:09:03
Speaker
whether it's in a negative way or in a positive way. Negative way is like in ah in a secular sense where everything in our culture right now is trying to distract this generation or even the older, I mean, it's trying to distract every single one of us. It doesn't matter what generation you're part of, if you're a millennial, you're Gen Z, boomer, whatever.
00:09:20
Speaker
i don't want to say boomer anymore. It's PTSD from last night. um Tennessee lost to Oklahoma, just in case y'all were wondering. But... All that to say is that the world is trying to distract us from keeping the main thing the main thing, from choosing the good portion.
00:09:40
Speaker
and there and he' good And Satan is at the heart of all of this, and this is something that he's been doing from the very beginning of time. This is something that he's really good at. His his tactics have not changed.
00:09:51
Speaker
If he can get you to think that you are right in your own eyes, the battle's already won in his mind. And that's exactly what we're seeing in our culture. Now on the flip side, in the Christian worldview, in the Christian world space,
00:10:06
Speaker
What we're talking about with Mary, how like what she's trying to do servant wise, it's not inherently bad. Like we are actually called as as believers in scripture to serve and to be hospitable, right? We see that in different passages, like in Romans chapter 12, verse 13, it says, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
00:10:25
Speaker
Or in Hebrews 13, two, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware, right? So we are called to be hospitable.
00:10:36
Speaker
And specifically within the church, you even see it regarding to the overseers, how therefore an overseer must be a above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-control, respectable. ah hospitable and able to teach.
00:10:49
Speaker
The elders, hospitable, a lover of good, self-control, out of Titus 1.8. And then even to talking about widows in 1 Timothy 5, chapter 10, where widows having a reputation for good works, if she's brought up the children, she is to show hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and devoted herself to good work. So this is something that the scriptures actually tell us that Martha, what she's doing is actually the right thing.
00:11:17
Speaker
so So what's the tension here with what Jesus is saying to her when she is coming to Jesus saying, hey, Jesus, do you not see what's happening here?
00:11:28
Speaker
And Jesus is saying, hey, you need to prioritize presence over tasks.
00:11:34
Speaker
You see, there's a time and a place to serve in the church. There's a time and a place to serve in your home. There's a time and a place to serve and in your work and and to stay focused and dedicated.
Personal Reflection on Distraction
00:11:44
Speaker
But there's also a time and a place for you to stay focused with what God has before you right now.
00:11:51
Speaker
Talking about Tennessee football, this hit me really hard last night. I was oh i was looking my i was looking over my sermon and I was trying to fill in a little bit of the gaps, you know, this final prep work. And yet, here I am watching Tennessee football getting angry at the fact that my took my our quarterback just threw a third interception in the first half, right?
00:12:11
Speaker
And at halftime, I literally stopped and I was like, why am I getting so angry over this? First off, I'm not even on the team. You know, just like, okay, hello, any other man in the room? Are y'all like me, right? It's like, I don't even live in the state of Tennessee. You know, like it's, but we get so distracted and consumed by what the world is telling us to like.
00:12:37
Speaker
I love my dad, but he indoctrinated me as a little kid to love Tennessee football. I can't help it. i'll get All you guys out here are like, it's whatever. but But all I say is like, we get so distracted to where we miss what is important, what's the most important thing in our life. And that is to stay focused on the gospel at hand.
00:12:59
Speaker
The true thing that brings joy, the true thing that brings satisfaction, the true thing that brings peace and understanding, brings humility.
00:13:12
Speaker
The gospel. So again, when when Mary, or sorry, when Martha, when when Jesus walks into the village, when she sees him, she goes out, she she greets him.
00:13:22
Speaker
And this is actually a really interesting moment. This is just a side note. I was reading, i don't think I've ever really thought of it this way, but I was reading John MacArthur's commentary and he's like, this is probably the first moment that Martha actually ever met Jesus.
00:13:35
Speaker
When you look at how Luke uses the verbiage here, when you look back in this account, now, when they went on the way, Jesus sent to the village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
00:13:47
Speaker
Right? So it's almost as if like she went out and she met, she'd heard about Jesus. She probably knew Jesus was knowing the circulating rumors about Jesus, but she met him and brought him into her house.
00:13:58
Speaker
Right? And so for put yourself in Martha's shoes now with that frame of reference of this is the first time you met Jesus, the Messiah, right? Okay, me put it in little more perspective for you. Think of yourself as a first century Jew that you've been waiting for the Messiah to come for thousands of years and he's finally here and you've been anticipating it and you get to meet the Messiah, okay?
00:14:22
Speaker
Now, with that frame of reference, put yourself in Martha's shoes. How would you want to to serve, to demonstrate, to show your love for the Messiah? You'd probably do the same exact thing that Martha did.
00:14:36
Speaker
Go in, make sure your house is clean. Let's be honest. if if It's just funny. Like when people come over to our homes, it's like everything goes into one closet. um It's like you're ashamed as if like you're actually human and you actually live in a dirty home. It's okay, we all live in dirty homes at times, right?
00:14:54
Speaker
But we're like Martha, we're like, no, no, no, we gotta get everything put together, right? Make it seem like we have our life put together. Make it seem like we actually function the right way, right? That as if like we deserve to have the presence of people in our home, or in this case, deserve to have the presence of Jesus in our lives.
Jesus' Gentle Rebuke and Spiritual Identity
00:15:16
Speaker
But that's not the case. See, again, with this idea of priorities it prioritizing presence over task is that Jesus in his rebuke, in a gentle rebuke to Martha, he's saying, hey, I appreciate what you're doing, but you're completely missing the point of why I'm here.
00:15:37
Speaker
I didn't come for you to clean your house up only for me to come in and make you and applaud you. He says, no, I was the one to come to actually clean your house up.
00:15:47
Speaker
You are incapable of cleaning your own house because of your sin. titan Now, when I say incapable cleaning your house, somehow I'm talking about spiritually here, right? Okay. Jesus says, no, I'm the only one who can do that for you. And your sister is the one who understands it.
00:16:05
Speaker
That's why he says, Martha, Martha, you have become anxious over these trivial things.
00:16:13
Speaker
You've missed it. And so for us, what can we learn from this? One, it's not that we can, what I'm not saying here is that we need to look at Martha and be like, shame on Martha, rebuke her right? No, that's not it.
00:16:27
Speaker
Because again, we are all like Martha. It's almost, we just live in a culture where we have to prove ou ourselves to be worthy of of the applause or worthy of the affirmation or the identity.
00:16:42
Speaker
And you see how that's played out for us in our culture. We get jealous, we get envious, we get angry with one another. We try to undermine one another, undercut one another at times because we try to achieve a status or a standard that somebody else has that we want.
00:17:00
Speaker
And Jesus is like, no man, like you're missing the point. As followers, as as as someone who calls me Lord, I want you to humble yourselves so that way you can actually serve and love and be compassionate and be empathetic and be sympathetic the way that I desire you to be while also holding to the righteous standard of living in the gospel.
00:17:28
Speaker
Jesus isn't saying that you need to sacrifice your morals to become these things. He says, no, no, no, no. It's through your morals that you become these things, right? it It's through walking a holy life that you become the man and woman that I desire you to be.
00:17:49
Speaker
So we must learn how to prioritize presence over tasks when it comes to the things in this world that are coming to distract us.
00:18:02
Speaker
Now, also please hear me say this. I'm not saying that college football is bad, okay? Or that your work is bad or playing pickleball is bad, right? yeah i don't know.
00:18:14
Speaker
But what I am saying though is that in the moment where you're starting to see that your identity is becoming more inclined to these things, versus your identity in Christ, you need to stop.
00:18:28
Speaker
You need to stop and assess where your heart is in that moment.
00:18:34
Speaker
Because your identity in Christ should be overflowing into the decisions, into the everyday lifestyle that which you're living now.
00:18:44
Speaker
The second thing I want us to see here though, is that not only prioritizing presence over task, but choosing the better portion.
00:18:55
Speaker
Because if we're not careful, if you guys go back to it, when he says when Jesus says in verse 40, he says, Martha, Martha, but Martha, sorry, it said verse 40, but Martha was distracted with much serving. This idea of distracted, isn't just this idea of like, man, I'm standing here with you guys, but I might i keep focusing over here, right?
00:19:17
Speaker
But in the and the original Greek, this idea of distracted is this is this term to literally to be dragged away, to be drug away. This is literally taking you away from the presence of God.
00:19:31
Speaker
So this is a this is a a big word here that Jesus uses, or that or that the that Luke uses here to describe Martha. That she's distracted with much serving. She's allowing her service her service to drag her away from the presence of God to where she cannot choose the better portion.
00:19:54
Speaker
And in light of this, she said that she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. So as a result of her distraction, she it's not just the fact that she's so worried about serving Jesus now, it's that she's been so distracted by her service that she's now rebuking Jesus.
00:20:17
Speaker
Did y'all catch that? how many y'all ever find yourself in that situation? That's awkward, right? I find myself in that situation a lot.
00:20:29
Speaker
There's things in my life where I'm like, Lord, do you not see what's happening? Have I not served you faithfully, but yet you're allowing Tennessee to lose football? um
00:20:40
Speaker
Sorry, that's silly. but But I found myself in that situation last night. I was like, are you kidding, right? How silly is that? We allow these things to distract us so much that we rebuke Jesus and his perfect holiness and his perfect righteousness to think that our way is better. And that our standard is better than his.
00:21:03
Speaker
What a dangerous place that is to be. Where we think that by choosing these things, we are choosing the better portion rather than choosing Jesus who is our portion.
00:21:23
Speaker
But look at how Jesus responds to her. We hit on this a a little bit already, but it says, but the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha. Now, when words are repeated in scripture, that means that you need to take full aware of what's going on, right?
00:21:37
Speaker
There's there's there's ah an emphasis here. says, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.
00:21:50
Speaker
Now, within this rebuke, we need to understand that Jesus is doing this with gentleness, with compassion, and with love. This isn't Jesus walking up to Martha and being like, girl, what are you doing?
00:22:06
Speaker
You are being distracted. Like he's not rebuking her in a negative way, but rather he's seeing her heart. He's acknowledging what she's doing and how she's doing it out of an overflow of care and love for him.
00:22:17
Speaker
But what he's also acknowledging this moment is that she's missing the point. says, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but there is one thing that is necessary.
00:22:30
Speaker
And what is that one thing?
00:22:34
Speaker
The Sunday school answer is Jesus, right? Jesus.
Unity in Christ and Prioritizing the Better Portion
00:22:40
Speaker
He's saying, you're missing the one thing. You're missing me.
00:22:45
Speaker
You're missing the good portion because you're so distracted.
00:22:52
Speaker
but your sister mar's But your sister, Mary, has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. So do not ask for me to take this from her.
00:23:04
Speaker
Because again, Martha's like, hey, tell her to come help me. Right? i mean Again, how many of you have ever been in that situation? Right? where you're doing a work and you feel like you're all alone and you feel like there's there's people who could help you, but they're actually not doing it because they're distracted by the things, or right? You're like, well, okay, time out, come help me.
00:23:22
Speaker
But the Lord says in this situation, he's like, no, no, no, Mary's focused on the right thing. I am not going to take that away from her. This is a beautiful promise, by the way, because why did Jesus come?
00:23:34
Speaker
He came to bring us life and life eternally. something that will never be taken away from us. So Jesus is demonstrating this power right here with Mary.
00:23:45
Speaker
Mary was choosing the right portion. She chose the right thing in this moment. And Jesus will not take that away from her. But rather, when he's rebuking mary or Martha, he's saying, I'm not gonna take this away from her. But even within his own rebuke to Martha, you almost see this invitation that he's asking for her. He says, hey, but you can come.
00:24:09
Speaker
you can have the same portion if you choose to humble yourself, if you choose to recognize it. Jesus has ah an incredible way of doing this in Scripture. When someone's walking in and a way that is unworthy or if he's rebuking them, he he has this tendency of of bringing this invitation in with it out of compassion and gentleness and love.
00:24:32
Speaker
Now, this is where the teachable moment is for us.
00:24:36
Speaker
If we are... the Marys in the world, right? We cannot look at the Marthas and be like, yeah, humble yourselves, come over this way, right? We gotta learn how to walk graciously and compassionately with those.
00:24:54
Speaker
This is where the body of Christ comes in. We are of one body, but of many members. And if we are not unified in the Holy Spirit, then that body becomes broken.
00:25:06
Speaker
There are a lot of Marthas in this room. There's also a lot of Marys in this room. And praise God for that. Because it's through the unity of the body of Christ, through these two spirits, that we're able to actually function and do the task in which the Lord has equipped us to do.
00:25:25
Speaker
i'll be The question is, are we willing and ready to humble ourselves to do those things together?
00:25:41
Speaker
Deuteronomy 8.3 says this. talking This is Moses talking to the nation of Israel.
00:25:50
Speaker
He says, and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know that he might make you know themanda that know that man does not live on bread alone but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of god
00:26:15
Speaker
abiding in the word of god like mary did is the most precious thing that a believer has. When we allow the distractions of our lives to take priority, we miss the good portion of Jesus, who is which is the divine truth, right?
00:26:34
Speaker
And so, if we are just if you're in this room this morning you find yourself distracted by whether it's the things of this world or by your good works, I pray that we will remember what Moses was telling the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 8.
00:26:49
Speaker
that the Lord, you know, he puts us in the wilderness for a reason. He brings us into moments for reason, and is to break us down to for us to recognize our need and our dependency on him as the bread of life, as the living water, as Jesus talks about, versus trusting in our own selves or in the world.
00:27:15
Speaker
Martha, though her intentions of service and hospitality were genuine, allowed her actions, her schedule, and her will, her plans to become more important than acknowledging the true source of life and purpose, and where the purpose comes from. John MacArthur says it this way, Martha was worried about the bread that feeds the body, while Mary's focus was on the bread of life that feeds the soul.
00:27:40
Speaker
That feeds the soul. And this is the heart of which Jesus was trying to address with Martha.
00:27:49
Speaker
And so for us, as we as we begin to close our time, i know you're probably thinking, wow, Jasper, this is early. um I really want us to think about that though. Where are you at?
00:28:01
Speaker
Are you more focused on the bread that feeds the body physically, or are you turning your attention to the bread of life that feeds the soul? This is a very important question.
00:28:15
Speaker
Because again, if we're allowing the distractions of this world or of our own flesh keep us from drawing onto the good portion, we are gonna be missing out on so much.
Self-Assessment and Spiritual Dependency
00:28:27
Speaker
The Lord has equipped us and called us to do many great things as the body of Christ.
00:28:33
Speaker
Now how those things look may not look like what the world calls great. but they are eternal and they are life-giving. And so we do not draw into the good portion.
00:28:46
Speaker
We cannot truly experience it the way that the Lord intended it. So that's my challenge for all of us. Are we actually drawing into the good portion? trusting in what God has for us? Or are we trusting in our own gifts and abilities, our own understanding, our own disposition, our own plans, our own tradition, our own expectations, right? We can go on and on and on about how selfish we are.
00:29:15
Speaker
Are we gonna lean into those things or are gonna actually trust in the will of God, what he has for us in our own personal life than what he has for us as a church communally?
00:29:27
Speaker
In this life, it is important as Christians to assess our priorities and intentionally carve out time for spiritual growth amid life's distractions. It helps us see the importance of focusing on Jesus in a world full of distractions, which you hear the heart of this when it comes to the psalmists. or I want to read just a few psalms to you, and then we'll close.
00:29:48
Speaker
But Psalm 16, 5, listen to these. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. You hold my lot. Psalm 73, 26, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
00:30:05
Speaker
Psalm 142, verse 5, I cry to you, O Lord. I say you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Are we ready to cry out these same words today as the psalmist did? Are we ready to surrender our whole life, our whole being, our whole portion to the Lord so that way he can use us and equip us and guide us in this life the way he desires to use us? Or are we going allow our own portion, our own distractions to hold us back from being used by God?
00:30:40
Speaker
So as we go into this time of invitation, we're going to sing a song. I'll be down in front. If you need to come talk to me I'd love to talk to you. But I pray that during this song that we will actually do the self-assessment. that we'll assess where we are right now with our dependency and our need on the Lord. Because if we're not truly abiding in the good portion daily, we're missing out on so much of the kingdom of God.
00:31:05
Speaker
Because we as the believers, we as the body, we are the representatives of the kingdom here and now. How do we expect people to come into the kingdom if we are not a part of the kingdom presently right now?
00:31:20
Speaker
So may we trust in the good portion. now Let me pray for us and we'll go in this time of invitation. Father God, we come before you, Lord, and we just ask God that you just truly reveal in our hearts where we are spiritually right now.
00:31:32
Speaker
Lord, even going back a couple of weeks with talking about being unashamed, Lord, is there shame in our life? is there Is there things in our life that are truly hindering us from surrendering our hearts to you?
00:31:43
Speaker
Lord, are we allowing our own pride, our own ah plans, our own understanding? to to is Are we allowing these things to hinder us from actually abiding in the good portion the way you desire us to?
00:31:56
Speaker
Or, Lord, are we are we actually ah abiding in you? Lord, I pray that during this invitation that we'll do a self-assessment.
00:32:07
Speaker
And Lord, if there's anything in our life that need to surrender to you, that we will do it so that way we can truly see clearly the purpose and the plan that you have for us as your church and as your people.
Conclusion and Prayer for Reflection
00:32:18
Speaker
And Lord, if there's anyone in this room today, Father, who's never surrendered their heart to you, maybe they've never even encountered the good portion, Father, I pray that today that you will reveal that to them and that they will come to know the true and good portion.
00:32:30
Speaker
the true bread of life, the living water, Jesus, the Messiah, the one who came to take away the sins of the world that way we can have eternal life through him.
00:32:39
Speaker
God, please work. Holy Spirit, work in this place. Break the chains that bind us, Father, from truly living a life that is 100% on mission and on purpose for you.
00:32:51
Speaker
God, we love you. We praise you. We thank you for the way you first loved us. We pray that you continue to go do a good work in us. It's in Jesus' name pray.
00:33:06
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.