Sitting At The Feet of Jesus - Part 1 of 2

The Baptist Bible hour now comes to you under the direction of elderlies, Sarah Bradley, junior pastor of the Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church.

This is Laschet Bradley Junior inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace.

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Our message today is entitled Sitting at the Feet of Jesus in this day when we're facing so many difficulties, so many challenges, that fear grips the heart of so many.

There's no better place for us to be than at the feet of Jesus. I pray that this message will be a comfort to you, and I would certainly appreciate it if you would take time to write to us if you can help us with the support of this work. The need is especially great at the present time. Our address is the Baptist Bible. Our Buck 17. Old 37. Cincinnati, Ohio, four five two one seven. And I invite you to visit our Web site at Baptist Bible. Our dot org. I encourage you to read the blog and also to look at the articles and other items that we have available to you there.

It's interesting as we read The Life of Jesus as recorded in the four gospels.

And see the many unique experiences where he met with people in public places, where he talked to individuals, where he spoke to large crowds and where he visited in home. One of those special visits was in the home of Mary and Martha. We want to turn to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10 and read about that visit. Luke, Chapter 10, beginning with verse 38. Now, it came to pass as they went.

That he entered into a certain village 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 his word. But Martha was cumber about much serving and came to him and said, Lord does now not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone, bid her, therefore that she helped me. And Jesus answered and said to her.

Martha, Martha Bauer, 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.

Mary. SAT at Jesus feet.

What a blessing. What a special place. Sitting at the feet of Jesus. First, we think about what that posture reveals. She had a humble spirit.

She's sitting down at his feet.

This wasn't something that was required. She willingly occupied that place. She felt to be close to Jesus, to be in his presence. The best place for her was at his feet.

It showed a desire to learn.

She was there, it says, to hear the words that Jesus spoke.

She recognized that Jesus spoke with authority. It was no ordinary man. It was unique. At a later time, she made a clear confession that she recognized him to be the son of God. And so she wanted to learn. She was there to hear, to believe and to pay. Is teaching. She considered it maybe such a privilege. Instead of Jesus, Fisher didn't want anything to interfere. So while Martha, her sister, was busy in the kitchen, Mary found it to be more important. To hear what Jesus had to say to take advantage of this special visitor in her home.

How often do you allow interference?

To disrupt time that you should spend at Jesus feet.

There are other attractions, other interest. Other things that demand your attention and you give it to them. And while you know, it's important to sit at Jesus feet. Little time is spent there. Obviously, we do not have the privilege of seeing him physically and sit at his feet, as did Mary. But in faith, we can come to his word. We can hear words that he has already spoken and prayed that the spirit of God will apply them to our hearts.

This posture.

Speaks of humility. Of submission, of a desire to learn. And then we think about the benefits.

What are the benefits that are received? One of the benefits we can receive by sitting at Jesus feet. She was learning the importance of dependance upon him. And we need to learn that over and over again.

All readily concede that we are weak and needy and we must depend upon him.

And yet some time we forget.

We began to lean on the arm, the flesh would begin to depend on our own wisdom.

Jesus said in John fifteen five. I am the vine.

You are the branches here that abidance in me and I in him the same bringing forth much fruit far without me can do nothing.

That's very clear.

We can do nothing that is worthwhile. Nothing that is God honoring. Nothing that is beneficial without him.

So if we chart a course without consulting him, we take off in a direction without looking for his guidance. We undertake a task in our own strength and we're not dependent upon him whatsoever. Is not a faith, Sam.

And so we have to learn from experience as well as the declaration that is here, clearly in his word. Without him, we can do nothing. You can become frustrated because you've tried to embark upon a project that seemed worthwhile. You've tried to make some changes in your life that you knew needed to be changed.

But you got nowhere because you failed to remember. Without him, you could do nothing.

Must be a time of learning. Sitting at Jesus feet.

Before going.

Matthew Elevon twenty. Jesus has come on to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I'm meek and lowly and hard and you shall find rest under your soul.

Yes, there there's work to be done. There is service to be rendered. There are places to go. And Matthew twenty eight, first nineteen, he says go. He therefore and teach all nations. Discipleship is important. That involves not just learning, but it involves activity. It means that we have a role to play in ministering to others. Seeking to lift up those that are cash down and seeking to encourage those that need encouragement. But first, we must learn. You can't encourage somebody correctly if you don't know what to say. Sometimes people think they're ministering to a person and all they're doing is quoting some trite phrases that they picked up in the world. If you're going to be a blessing, if you're going to really help somebody, it needs to be on the basis of what God's word teaches. And so there must be a time of learning before you go.

Time to grow, Engracia, and the knowledge of our lord and savior Jesus Christ before you can effectively minister to others. Furthermore.

Sitting at Jesus feet. You learn about real love.

That word is use. In a broad sense in our culture. Much of the time with a connotation that is far removed.

What genuine love mean is.

Jesus says and John, 13, verse one.

Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was calm, that he should depart out of the world onto the father having loved his own.

He loved them. On to the.

There is genuine love.

Think of how patient Jesus was with his disciples. They have so many times misunderstood. They so many times came to the wrong conclusion, said the wrong thing. But he loved them to the end. Even after Peter had denied him. He showed his continued love for him.

Aren't you glad that he loves you even when you have failed? Why would any of us be today if his love was withdrawn? Because we had sent come short. We had failed. His love is not such that he condones our sea and approves of it casually overlooked at. But when we have sand, we can come to the throne of grace and find forgiveness and cleansing and to know that he continues to love us. Now, this is where we learn about genuine love. In contrast to the fact that God continues to love us even when we have failed. If somebody disappoints us or does something that we disagree with, we have a tendency to write them off. Health through that person. That hurt my feelings. That will look at me. They didn't show me the right attention. They didn't demonstrate that they really cared about me. I thought they were my friend, but they've disappointed me and so you're finished.

Not so with Jesus. In spite of your failure. He loves you. And that's the kind of love we used to have.

The third and fourth verse of that same chapter, Jesus has a new commandment I give unto you that he'd love one another as I have loved you. So just as he loved his disciples to the end, love them fully, completely, and without withdrawing it in the same manner we are to love one another.

By this channel, all men know that you are my disciples if you have love. One to another.

Look at that.

Three times in that one verse, he says, love one another.

You. Miss the point.

OK, so I'm not sure what this takes me. No, I know there's some hard dicks in the Bible, but this is not one of them. This may be hard to practice this. Hard to understand.

I'm giving you a commandment that you love one another and you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also do not love one another by this shallow man. Know that you're my disciples, that one that you love one another.

Genuine love when you're at the feet of Jesus.

There is no bitterness.

There is no fault finding. There's no judge mental spirit.

There's no complaining. Oh, how important. At which it. At the feet of Jesus. Learning.

About real love. Love others. As he loved us. You might say, well, some people are hard to love, but don't you think what our holy heavenly father looks on us? Might well say we're our gays, but he loves us. And he proved that love by giving his son to die for us.

And then as you sit at the feet of Jesus, you're not only learn about real love, you learn to have compassion.

It was a lawyer that came to Jesus and said, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says, what's written in the law.

The man knew the law. His answer was now shut. Love the Lord, our God, withhold our mind, heart, soul, and strengthen thy neighbor as thyself.

And no doubt, even as he quoted it, you must have felt some guilt and knew that he did not make the mark. So he says, oh, who is my neighbor? And the scripture specifically say he made that statement in order to justify himself. It's let me off the hook.

I don't even know who my neighbor is. How can I be held accountable for this high standard?

So then Jesus relates the story of the man who was robbed and beaten and left half dead on the highway. Now, I said, the priest comes along, you might expect. All right. This man is in gotten service.

It's certainly a blessing that he comes on the road at this time when this man is in such great need.

But the breeze doesn't stop. It passes in by.

He may have thought, I've got an important meeting to attend. I can take time to try to help this man who's in such dire need. I've got to go about other things.

Another Levite comes churning out this man who minister to this poor soul who has been beaten up and left half dead. But he passes by. And then the Samaritan comes. An unlikely individual. To be the one who would minister. To this need. But the Samaritan comes and barge up his boo. Takes him to the ian.

Page, the bill tells the innkeeper, if there are any other charges, I'll pay them when I come back.

What compassion? This man may have had a busy schedule.

But he stopped because here was a poor soul who was half dead. He desperately needed help. He couldn't help himself from the Samaritan, showed compassion.

Medicaid needs. Paid the bill. So then Jesus asks the lawyer.

Which one was the neighbor? And of course, he had to concede it was the Samaritan. It was the one that showed mercy and Jesus then said, go and do thou likewise. The whole point of the conversation was to show the man since he was talking about inheriting a turn of life, if you're going to go by the law, if you're going to do something in order to obtain it.

Here's what the law requires.

Love God with all your mind, heart, soul and strength. Your neighbor as yourself. If you know anything about yourself, you know, you missed the mark terribly.

They haven't come close to loving God with all your mind, all your heart, all your soul, all your life and everything you've done, all your actions. It's all been to the glory of God.

You know, you missed it. Terribly missed. And love your neighbors, your chef.

You may think about two or three incidents along the way. Well, here's a place I really did help somebody. I really did go out of my way. I did assist them.

But you have come close to loving your neighbor. As yourself. So the point was to the lawyer.

It's going to take more than your action, going to take more than your personal qualifications, not to take the grace of God to save your soul because they sin and violate the law of God and they stand in need of grace.

But there's a practical lesson for us to learn, and that is if we're sitting at Jesus feet. If we're coming humbly before him. If we're learning from our great teacher sitting at Jesus feet, we learn to be compassionate.

Father.

When you sit at Jesus feet, there's peace.

What a peaceful place to be. Sitting at Jesus feet.

John, 14, 27. Jesus says, peace, I leave with you. My peace, I give them to you.

Not as the world giveth, give unto you. Let not your heart be trouble. Let it be afraid. Jesus is giving comfort to his disciples before he goes away. He knows at the time of his crucifixion is near and he'll be leaving them.

But he says peeves.

I leave with you my piece. I gave us not the kind of peace the World Games. It's not just a temporary, peaceful set of circumstances. It's a peace within. It's a page that you're going to enjoy when everything seems to be out of place.

There's trouble. There's difficulty, there's things you can't understand.

But you can have peace within because it's a peace that he gave. And he says be not afraid. Chapter 16.

John, chapter 16, verse 33. He says, these things I have spoken on to you that in me he might have peace in the world. Ye shall have tribulation. Be of good cheer.

I have overcome the word. That's comforting, isn't it?

Now, it's a fact in the world. You shall have tribulation. Expect anything else you want to be tempered? Disappointed and frustrated. Jesus has told you that violence. There are gonna be trials. They're going to be disappointments. They're gonna be difficulties.

But he says hi. Have overcome the world.

So for sitting at Jesus feet, we're talking to the one who has overcome, one who has the power to lift us up, the grace to sustain us. Oh, we face a variety of tribulations in this world.

Some of them. Waitress Dale. It can physically. Feel the pressure. You feel like there's a heavy load.

Then it becomes difficult to get up and move and to put one foot forward and then the next. Some call deep grief.

The pain is hard to describe.

Some shame to go on without an end.

With some trials when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you'll see that they're going to soon be concluded, just, Lord, give me patients grace and strength to get through it.

But at other times. You can't see the.

You go to the promises of God, you know that he says, I will never leave you, not forsake you. You know that. And yet you have to say, Lord, increase my faith. I want to embrace you. I know that only with the help cannot be sustained.

He says. Be not afraid.

The was said at what time, I'm afraid I will trust in the. Even long before Jesus came. David's relationship with the Lord was such that he knew in the Times my difficulty and the times. And I'm struggling in the Times and I'm afraid we're about to do I'm to trust in the.

And then Jesus says I'm the one who was her. It's my piece that I would give you. Be not afraid.

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Let us keep in mind the words of Jesus, let not your heart be troubled. Meet her. Let her be afraid. No matter what we encounter in life, no matter how difficult the times may be. He is one who has promised never to leave us nor forsake. We find our strength in our hill. In Jesus Christ. I hope that you were writers this week. Until next week. At this same time. May the Lord richly bless you all.

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The Baptist Bible hour has come to you under the direction of elderlies, Sarah Bradley junior pastor of the Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church. Address all male to the Baptist Bible lower. Cincinnati, Ohio. Four, five two one seven. That's the Baptist Bible. Our Cincinnati, Ohio. Four five two one seven.

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