The Lord takes us through things, and we all make mistakes. Mistakes are part of our experience. This is positive. If the wings of hope are still there, then mistakes work for us. And this is good, because one who has never made a mistake is unlikely to know life, he is unlikely to instruct anyone. Apostle Peter denied the Lord three times. But Peter, who denied, encourages me more than if Peter were blameless.
Our brother had an unexpected visitation: he saw things from the inside of the man of God with the eyes of a lion. The blessing of Judah is a young lion. He is rising. He is not just rising on his legs, but rising in general. Today is the rise of the Lion. The lion is rising. This is the blessing of Judah, whom all his brothers shall praise. Of course, Judas was not praised by the brothers at first. There was nothing unusual about him. He protected Joseph to some extent, kept his sons, didn’t offend the woman unlawfully, hid his youngest son from her, and then God allowed it so that he himself lay down with her and Perez and Zara were born. This is very serious, they entered the genealogy of Christ. These are incredible things, exploding grace that defies any logic and description, any righteousness, godliness, it is very difficult to catch, because it is just mercy, it is God’s providence.
I want to catch this providence in my life. I want to catch it not on the basis of merit, not on the basis of logical understanding, not on the basis of my prayers, but on the basis of mercy and grace. As Paul said, “not by works, but by mercy,” not found with works of righteousness, but by faith. As you believe, so shall it be for you. Faith is an incredibly nuclear force, because it goes beyond all boundaries of everything conceivable and unthinkable. This is faith.
Faith crosses, it jumps like a leopard, takes off like an eagle, emerges from the ocean and goes into space. These are incredible flights of faith. There is no victory without risk. When our faith loses risk, we have no miracle. Because a miracle is the result of taking a risk.
I want to live. But to live not in the understanding of being, when a person drags out a gloomy existence. He has nothing to say. He keeps talking about routine. There is no inner journey happening inside him. He has to boast about something else, and starts being hypocritical. The path of hypocrisy. Poverty inside, but has to look someone. He wants to be significant while being insignificant. Today the Lord wants to break these things. They are ugly, nasty in the life of God’s man.
That we are being sanctified from these things is wonderful – we need to come to reality. Jesus was real and we must be real people.
I remember how Martha and Mary moved.
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house; she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.” Jesus answered her, “Martha! Martha! You are worried and troubled about many things, but only one thing is needed; Mary has chosen
the good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).
For some reason, it was Martha’s house, and she accepted Him into her house. Mary made up her mind to go and sit at the feet of Jesus. As a minister, I know this, that there are precious things I can give. And there are two kinds of listeners – those who treasure it, and those who don’t understand the price. Those who don’t treasure, they are constantly busy doing something, fussing around. And there are people who sit down right there and take heed.
I remember my old sister Tanya, who loved me very much, as she once said: “Oh, brother, I would go to the ends of the world with you!” I thought, “Seriously? You are a grandmother, how can you follow a boy who has just come to believe.” It hit me so hard then. “Then I would make you small, put you in a backpack, and so we would go!” She was so cheerful, such a young soul in that old body.
It seems to me that Mary was like that. She just sat down at the feet of Jesus, and she didn’t need anything else. I wish this for all of you. I wish you not to be pragmatists, businessmen who count everything, look at their watches, and all these are masks, from fear, from poverty, in order to disappear quickly. Because for you, the platform of Jesus Christ is an empty place.
Jesus didn’t need much food. Martha wasn’t interested in Jesus, she wanted to feed Him. This is such a paradox – it seems to be love, but as anti-love. But Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His Word. This naughty girl grabbed hold of Jesus, and she didn’t need anything else and wasn’t afraid that Martha would reproach her. Like my old sister Tanya, who decided to go with me, and I would go with her too, these two are already invincible. It seems to me that this was heaven on earth for Jesus. These pieces of paradise on earth are already heaven. After all, He loves so that He doesn’t want anything but you, and I want to love like that, also risk everything, tear myself off from everything and treasure nothing more, except for the most important. Who among us can do that?
For me, these are the pieces of paradise, when you can completely give yourself to the most important thing. It will be such love that nothing will be of interest, except for the main thing. I know this pain – they are interested in you not to give themselves to you, but to use you. It is a pain. I think Jesus experienced it when He saw that He was not loved the way He loved.
Martha took care of the big treat. And at that time He was speaking the Word. That is, He is close to you, but you don’t need Him. It was serving for Him, but not to Him. Martha went to Jesus to take Mary away as well. She invented such a theology for herself, built on manipulation, on selfishness, this is a whole theological doctrine on this topic. We have a lot of this: “Instruct him, do this, do that…”
And Martha turns to Jesus like this: “Tell her so and so.” Who is the Lord then? Jesus answered her, “Martha! Martha! You are worried and troubled about many things, but only one thing is needed. Here is the “one”. I don’t think it is about sitting and listening. This “one” is the biggest mystery in the world. You need to find, what that one is. Things are much more complicated. Find what matters most for Jesus in you, and what Jesus is waiting for you to give Him, the most important thing. The paradox is that everyone knows what it is and will not give it. Even after this instruction, Martha continued her movements.
Think that the Lord called all this service vanity. You will say, “Lord, I have served You for so many years!” And He says, “It’s all vanity!” Imagine what it’s like to hear about your whole life. Think about it. Sometimes you come to a church, and even to you it is obvious that there is so much fuss, but there is no main thing. But in other places there’s nothing, but all people are around you, and you know that the main thing is there. They are ready to go with you to the end, without looking back, they are ready to lose everything for the main thing.
Jesus said, “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple”, “Whoever does not hate his father and mother, wife and children and his own life also, he is not worthy of Me.” What does He require of us? What is this one? Don’t rush to answer right away. “Only one thing is needed”! Maybe there are things that we generally need to throw out of our lives? Because the Lord calls it vanity.
It impresses me a lot. I don’t want to be foolish. I do not want to waste my life in vain in order to become successful in someone’s eyes, to prove something to someone. I only need one. I don’t know what this “one” is yet. But take me, Lord, to the most important thing!
Mary chose the good part. I don’t think it’s about her sitting. It’s about what happened between her and Jesus. He looked into her eyes, and there was complete understanding, and of course, “Mary was already gone,” nothing else had value. This is the kind of love I’m looking for. This is God’s love. This is the kind of friendship I’m looking for, the kind of friends – those who don’t need anything else but me. It is a pain in the heart of both God and the prophets to find such love.
What do you want? What is the most important thing for you? It is more than love for your children, your business, your wife or husband. Don’t think that this love will make you warm. There is no access for the fingers there, there is access to the subtlest Spirit, penetration according to the law of freedom.
“And you only need one! “Mary chose the good part, which will not be taken away from her.” That’s it, Mary was empowered, and she forever remained in a privileged place – in the heart of Jesus. She has her place there – in His heart. Mary was the person of Jesus. Because after such an empowerment, imprint, such a testimony, a person can’t remain the same.
I want to dive into the most important thing today. And I’m here for the sake of this main thing. I don’t want my life to be all work and vanity. The Lord said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow.” We must believe, and surrender, and trust, so that the heart remains alive, a green garden, so that we live our lives, and there the flowers bloom, so that we don’t get tired, never leave these blazing fires, so that the transition we make is with full confidence that we are not entering death, but entering into life!