Skip to content Simplicity of Life: Part 3 Sep 8 · 33 min ...more
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:09 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. It is always a joy and a privilege to bring God's word to your homes. As we study the Word together today, I want to talk about the0:21 subject of simplifying your possessions from Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verses 8 to verse 20. Now, this is part 3 of our study on Simplification of life,0:33 simplifying your possessions. Now Jesus spoke about money on various occasions. In fact, he spoke about money more than he did about heaven or hell or0:45 prayer or anything else. The reason is because money competes with your allegiance to God, and it corrupts our discipleship. That's why in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus0:57 placed money and God side by side, and he said, You have to choose which master you serve. You cannot serve God and money, the Bible1:08 says. So money is something that you and I, we need to We know that people love money. We know that people want to have more of it. In fact, a son will sue1:20 his father for money. A woman will violate her body for money. You know, a man will be even willing to sell his soul for money, and 1 man would be even willing to kill another man for money.1:32 This money and wealth and possessions is something that is competing for your allegiance. So today, we wanna study about how do we simplify our life and what does1:44 that involve when it comes to simplifying our possessions. Go with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 8 to verse 20. Solomon, the wisest man, the richest man1:56 that ever lived, he addresses the issue of wealth, possessions, and money. In fact, chapter 5, he begins by addressing worship, then he he focuses2:08 attention on wealth. Again, putting side by side worship and wealth. Which master do you follow? Listen carefully. In chapter 5, verse 8 onwards, he2:20 speaks about 3 keys that you and I, we need to understand about wealth. The first 1 is the intoxication of acquiring wealth. Money2:31 corrupts the human hearts. Look at this. In verse 8, if you see in the province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be2:43 amazed at the matter. He's asking you, if you visit a town, if you visit a village, and you see the poor are being oppressed. So at the grassroots levels in the government, people are being2:54 oppressed. Violence is being done to them. Injustice is being done to them. He says, Don't be amazed at it. Why? Because for the high official is watched by a higher3:06 official, and there are yet higher ones over them. In other words, the corruption at the grassroot level is an indication there is corruption all the way to the top.3:18 And then he says, but this is gain for a land in every way, a king committed to cultivated fields. A king is committed to providing for his kingdom. Cultivate the fields, tax3:30 the people. But this is for noble reason. But when it comes to the grassroot level, when this is implemented, there is corruption, corruption of bribery, corruption of oppression.3:42 And that is what Solomon says, At the highest level, people can be corrupted when money is involved. In my life, I've noticed all you have to do is3:54 just give people these 2 things. You will know their true character. What are those 2 things? Give people privilege and give people currency. Give them privilege and give them resources.4:06 Then you will know their real heart and their real character. Then he goes on to say in verse 10 and verse 11, money doesn't truly satisfy. Look at this.4:18 And he who loves money will not be satisfied with money. If you love money, you will not be satisfied with no matter how much you have. Whether you have little or more, you will never be satisfied. Then he4:29 says, nor he who loves wealth with his income. If you love wealth and possessions, you will never be satisfied with your money. When goods increase, they increase4:41 who eat them, and what advantage has they owner but to see them with his eyes? In other words, whatever whenever you have more, you will have more people gathered around you because they love the things that you can do4:53 for them. Not you, the things you can buy for them or do for them. In other words, this money, even though you have it, it doesn't satisfy. It corrupts your heart, and it never truly5:05 satisfies. You know, woman called the neighborhood churches, and she went through the phone directory calling 1 church at a time, and this is her request. She said, I have a pet dog5:16 who just passed away. I want this dog to be buried in a Christian funeral. Can someone do a funeral for my dog? And every church rejected her request. Finally, she was5:28 so exhausted. She called this Anglican church, and she said to the priest, please, I would donate 10000 dollars to the church if you do my the5:40 dog's funeral. And the Anglican priest just paused for a second and said, hey. How come you didn't mention at first that your dog was Anglican? Listen. Money5:51 corrupts. Now this is the key. You and I, we need to understand. Number 2, the second key is the danger of holding wealth. You know, whenever we try to hold wealth, Jesus said this6:03 in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19, that moth and rust will destroy. Thieves will break in and steal. In other words, whenever you try to hoard it, it is6:15 not only precarious, it's also perishable. It's perishable and precarious. That's what Jesus said. Here, Solomon writes the same thing. He says, you not only lose your money once, but you lose it6:26 twice. Look at this. Money hoarded to one's own hurt. This is what he's saying in verse 12. Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little6:38 or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. See, the rich will struggle to sleep. Why? Because they have so much hidden in secret places. They are worried6:50 about losing them. Look at this. There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun. Riches were kept by the owner to his herd. In those days, the rich people, they didn't7:02 have banks to store their wealth. So all their jewelry and all their precious things, they stored it in the house in secret places. In other words, they create false walls.7:14 You know, they would create hollow walls. And behind the wall, all their jewelry and all the precious things are stored. But at night, this rich man is always wondering.7:26 He's wondering, is there really my wealth? Is my wealth still there behind those walls? Because he knows the guy who put it there and the guy who helped him cement this whole wall would know that there7:38 there is wealth inside there. So what if they have stolen it, and then they have made it look like everything is okay? So he's always gripped with this. What if I lose everything I have? That's7:50 why he can't sleep. So the Bible says, money holdeth to one's hurt. Not only that, money doesn't guarantee security. Look at this in verse 14. And those riches were lost in a8:01 bad venture. And he is a father of a son, and he has nothing in his hand. The riches were lost in a bad venture. See, sometimes, you think that you you have enough, you made8:13 money, but then you put it all into a bad investment, and everything goes bust. See, I have met in my travels people who were bankrupt, who were people who were millionaires8:24 and became became bankrupt in a single day because of a single turn of event. I want you to listen to me carefully. Bad ventures can ruin people's8:36 lives. Evander Holyfield, a man who is celebrated for his ability to fight in the boxing ring. He earned nearly 250000000 US through championships8:48 and endorsements in his career. And he used to live in 109 bedroom mansion in Atlanta. But today, he writes, he9:00 lives in a 2 bedroom apartment, and there is not even 1000000 to his name. What happened? How would you lose 200 over million? He writes, it was all wasted on9:11 bad investments that produced no return. That's why you and I, we need to understand. Money is a currency. You know? It's a current. It flows in. It flows out. In other words, you and9:23 I, we need to understand that the more we try to hold it, it is holding to our own danger. There is no security, nor there is a satisfaction in money. Thirdly, money can't be taken9:35 into eternity. Verse 15, Solomon writes, As he came from his mother's womb, he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing from his toil that he may carry away in his9:46 hand. This also is a grievous evil. Evil. Just as he came, so shall he go. And what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? In other words, you came naked. You go into9:58 eternity naked. In other words, you can't bring anything with you. You know, there was a wise man who lived in a village, in this Jewish10:09 village. His name is Jacob the baker. And he was so wise. People gather around him, and they will always ask for wisdom. And he usually point them to a spiritual nugget or a10:21 principle or a paradigm. A very old, covetous lady. She's stingy, she's covetous, and a very greedy lady, 1 day came to him and said, I it's that season of my life10:33 when I'm gonna pass away, and I wanna bring all my wealth with me to the next life. How would I do that? So the whole village gathered to hear the wisdom that Jacob the baker would give.10:45 And this is what Jacob the baker said, anything that is valuable, you'll be able to bring with you to the next life. She says, yes, yes, yes. I wanna know everything that in my life is valuable. How do I bring it to the10:57 next life? He said, through your memories. For that, she was really puzzled, she said, what memories? All how can I bring all my wealth as a memory?11:09 He said, this is where you have the wrong definition of what is valuable. Listen to me carefully. You are not gonna bring anything with you when you go. You're gonna leave everything behind11:21 here. You know, a story was told of a man who was dying. He called his 3 friends, his doctor, his lawyer, his pastor. He gave each of them 10000011:32 dollars in a a green in a white envelope and gave it to them and and said, When my coffin is being lowered, I want you guys to throw this envelope into the coffin,11:44 so that I would take this 300000 with me when I go to the next life. Now, this is what happened. After the funeral was over, the 3 friends gathered together, and they were having they were reminiscing11:56 about the friend. And then suddenly, the pastor is the first 1 to start. He confessed. He said, I have a confession. I actually opened the packet to see the cash of hundred thousand,12:08 and I took about 50000 out, and I gave it to our missions fund to fund orphanages in Africa. Because he's not gonna miss it anyway. So instead, I12:20 put white paper in it, and I threw it in. The doctor said, I have a confession too. At least you took 50000. I took all the hundred thousand, and I put white paper12:32 instead, and I threw it in. Instead, I'm gonna use this hundred thousand to buy medical equipments for my hospital to serve the poor. The past the the lawyer heard all this, and he says, how could you do this to a dying12:44 man? His wish was that we give him the hundred thousand. So I gave him. I gave him the entire amount. It's just that I wrote him a check instead. I want you to listen to12:55 me carefully. You're not gonna bring anything with you. You're gonna leave everything behind here. That's why Solomon says there's an intoxication of acquiring wealth. There's a danger of holding13:07 wealth. Thirdly, he says there's a grace for enjoying wealth. Look at this in verse 17. In verse 17, I want you to point this 1. Just circle this 1, because verse13:18 17, Solomon actually highlights the end result of a life under the sun. See, book of Ecclesiastes, there's perspective about 2 perspectives of life, isn't it? Life under the13:30 sun and life under the hand of God. Here, life under the sun, Solomon says here, all his days he eats in darkness, in much vexation and sickness and13:42 anger. Listen carefully. He says, he eats in darkness. Not only that, in vexation and much anger and sickness. In other words, he has all the money13:54 in the world, but he has no grace to enjoy it. That's life under the sun. You know, years ago, I was reading the newspaper in Sydney, and there was an14:06 article about this wealthy man. He inherited his father's wealth and the media empire. And then he was building a very lavish 40000000 dollar home for his young14:18 family. It took 3 years for them to build that building. Before the building was even completed, their family home to be completed, his wife divorced him, took the 2 kids, and moved to America.14:30 How sad is this? In other words, it's it's 1 thing to have a home, but you can't have the grace to enjoy it. Andrew Carnegie was a wealthy millionaire during his time, but14:42 he was a very sick man. 1 time, he was had just checked into a hotel in Europe, and he heard the noise of construction next door. He opened the windows. He looked down. He saw14:54 1 of the construction worker just enjoying his meal, enjoying his lunch, a burger. And Andrew Carnegie turned around and said, how I wish I can give my15:06 entire wealth away to get an appetite like that. I want you to listen to me. Just because you have money and much possessions doesn't necessarily mean you have the grace to enjoy it. This is why someone15:18 wise said this. Money can buy medicine, but health. Money can buy you a house, but not a home. Money can buy you companions, but not friends. Money can buy you entertainment, but not happiness. Money15:30 can buy you food, but not appetite. Money can buy you a bed, but not sleep. Money can buy you a crucifix, but not a savior. Money can buy you a good life, but not eternal life.15:42 Listen to me carefully. Life under the sun is a mundane, routine, mediocre kind of life where there is no enjoyment, no true enjoyment, or15:54 not true satisfaction. But what about the life under the hand of God? Life under the hand of God, from verse 18 to verse 20, this is what Solomon says. Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to16:06 eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which 1 toils under the sun, the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone to16:18 whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil. This is the gift of God. Thirdly, in verse 20, for16:30 he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. How many times in these 3 verses, the word joy, enjoy,16:41 rejoice, comes again and again? Life under the hand of God is a life filled with enjoyment, rejoicing, and joy. Look16:53 at how it ends in verse 20. God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. How many of you would say this boldly tonight? I17:05 wanna be purposed in my life. I wanna be purposeful that I'm enjoying life to the fullest, that God will give me grace to have joy in my heart all the days of my life. Here in17:17 verse 18, he says, to find enjoyment in your toil, to be able to eat, to drink, and to find enjoyment in your toil is actually a grace. Look at this in verse 19. God17:29 has given them wealth, possessions, power to enjoy them. This is the gift of God. Can I humbly say this? Solomon takes a different approach to looking at17:41 wealth. He says, if God has given you the grace and the ability to to have possessions, wealth, and money, he gives you the grace to17:53 enjoy it, then enjoy life. But know this, it is God who has given it to you. It is the gift of God. Hallelujah. This is where you and I, we need18:05 to understand theology. How to truly enjoy life. How to truly enjoy life. You know, there are 2 orders of life, you and I, we need to understand. There's a creative order. There is a18:16 redemptive order. What is the creative order? The creative order is God created everything, and he says it is all good, and he created it for you and me to enjoy. God created18:28 marriage. God created sex. God created everything that is that you and I see. So when you walk into the near the beach, when you take a walk in the bush, and you see all the beautiful creation of God, you go to18:40 the mountaintop and see the valley, and you see the beautiful creation of God, it is for you to have pleasure. God created it all as a redempt as a creative order for us to enjoy18:51 life. Hallelujah. And to know that he is the 1 who has done all this. What is the redemptive order? The redemptive order is that you not only just waste your time just enjoying life,19:04 but you invest your time. You invest your time, and you invest your resources wisely in the create in the redemptive order. What is the redemptive order? That God wants to redeem mankind. God has given19:16 his people resources so that they can invest the resources wisely into things that matter, things that outlast them, things that matter in eternity. Hallelujah. You and I know19:27 what matters in eternity. What matters in eternity is the souls of men. Hallelujah. That is why you and I, we need to recognize, what are we using this wealth for? What are we using the possessions19:39 for? What are we using this money for? Is it for buying things that don't last, or it is to invest in relationships that are gonna outlast us, and it's gonna last in19:51 eternity? Hallelujah. When you understand this, you will know how to live with contentment. We and you and I, we need to cultivate20:02 contentment, because it is God who gives you to enjoy. Whether he has given you 2000000 or 20000000 or 200000000, it is God who has given you wealth to enjoy and to20:14 invest for his glory. This is what the New Testament teaches. Go with me to first Timothy chapter 6 and verse 6 to 11. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing20:26 into the world. We cannot take anything out of this world. But if we have food and clothing, with these, we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into20:37 temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds20:49 of evil. Listen to me carefully. Love of money. You can be poor and still have love of money. You can be rich and still not have love of money because love of money is a condition of heart. He says21:00 the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. Go with me to21:12 verse 17 onwards. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, not to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches,21:24 but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Circle. Underline. God gives you everything for you to enjoy. They are to do good, but not just enjoy for21:36 yourself, but they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, and ready to share. Thus, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future21:49 so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. Where where do you find true life? True life is found in God. When you enter into eternity,22:00 I pray that you will be rich in eternity. Not just rich in this world, but rich in eternity. How? By investing in the things that God asks you to invest, in the lives of people, souls22:12 of men, in eternal things. That's why, you and I, we need to understand what we have is not actually ours. The theology is he owns everything. I'm the steward of everything. And because he has given it to me, he22:24 has given it to me for me to enjoy, at the same time to invest in things that matter. And the moment you learn this, you will be set free. Because the spirit of this world is22:36 all about grabbing, accumulating, holding. And the Bible says, the kingdom life is about giving, sowing, and and and blessing.22:48 You and I, we need to realize that you and I are conduits of blessing. We are here to give to the kingdom work. Praise God. And you can only do this if you understand23:00 simplification of life. In Matthew chapter 6, that's what Jesus addresses. The allegiance of your heart to your master, and then the application of23:12 that is seen in how you live your life with singleness of heart and simplification of life. You and I, we know that in this house, we don't teach poverty theology,23:24 neither do we teach prosperity theology, but we certainly teach providential theology. In other words, God who provides. It is God who has provided me this, and that means23:36 God has a purpose why he did this. Therefore, I need to live in light of that. Ron Sider, in his book, Christians, Rich Christians in the Age of Hunger,23:48 he wrote this. We madly multiply more sophisticated gadgets, larger and taller buildings, and faster means of transportation, not because they enrich our lives, but because we are24:00 driven by an obsession for more. And this is the cardinal sin of Western civilization. Listen to me. When mammon rules, things increase. When things24:11 increase, life becomes complicated. The answer to that is not just embracing poverty, but embracing stewardship theology. Hallelujah. You and24:23 I, we need to develop a lifestyle of simplicity and stewardship. Praise God. GK Chesterton said this, there are 2 ways to get enough. 1 is to accumulate more24:35 and more. The other is to do less and less, to desire less and less. Rather than accumulating more and more, is to desire less and less. To have what we want is24:47 riches, but to do without is power. Judge McDonald said this. That's why in this house, we teach you practical ways in which how you can simplify your life. You24:59 know, when I'm taking somebody on a mentoring journey, we usually focus on 3 things, their domestic life, their devotional life, and their developmental life. And part of that journey25:11 includes how they handle resources, how they steward what God has given them. There are usually 4 levels in which people live life. They can live above their25:22 means. They can live with their means. They can live within their means, and they can live below their means. In other words, people sometimes can live above their means. They earn hundred, but25:34 they spend hundred and 20. They can That means they will get into debt more and more. And there are people who are living from credit card to credit card, interest rate to interest rate, paying interest all the time.25:46 But then there are people who are living with their means. In other words, they they are earning hundred. They are spending hundred. They have no generosity. There's no room for in their life for emergency, for25:57 generosity, and all that. They are always living in that tension. Then there are people who can live within their means. Within their means means that they earn hundred, but they spend about 80. There's a room for them.26:09 There's a buffer for them. That means they have saved up for rainy day. They got stuff in place. They can be generous. They can be doing all those things. But what we teach in this house is live within or way live26:21 way below your means. Live way below your means. In other words, if you earn at hundred, spend like 60 or 70. That's why you would have heard me said this before,26:33 70, 10, 10, 10. In other words, try to curb all your spendings to about 70 percent. Live your life on 70 percent of what you earn as a household.26:45 First 10 percent of your income goes to the Lord, to the local church where you're being fed as a tithe. You bring this tithe to the storehouse because we acknowledge Christ is our provider, that the Lord has provided26:56 us. He has enabled us to earn this money. So we bring our tithes into the storehouse that there may be food. So we give our 10 percent to the local church as tithes. The next 10 percent,27:09 I want you to think about offerings, missions, the poor, family members who need help, generosity fund. That means the 10 percent can be used to invest in other people's27:20 lives. Then the other 10 percent, you invest into your future, whether you're buying insurance, whether you invest your money, or whether you're saving it up as cash fund, you've got to save27:32 that 10 percent. Now, if you do this regularly, 70 percent is where your spending is capped at. 10, 10, 10, you give it away. Now this is important. The reason why we27:44 do that is because we learn to steward what God has given us. I wanna give you a framework that I usually teach in the Bible College for simplifying your lifestyle.27:56 There are about 8 things I want you to take it down. Number 1, buy for usefulness rather than prestige. Many times we buy stuff not because of its usefulness, but because of the28:07 badge, the label it comes with. See, you and I, we don't need to impress others. They don't care. So learn to buy for usefulness. Secondly, develop the habit of giving things away. Rather28:19 than the world accumulating, accumulating, accumulating, learn to deacumulate. In other words, learn to give things away. Learn to shop in your own house, and see the stuff that you have bought and never used or28:31 underused. Give them away. Hallelujah. Thirdly, beware of modern advertising. Don't get sucked in to this the the to the emotional buying. Number28:42 4, stop impulsive buying. In other words, don't just watch the late night TVs and then go and buy things. These days, it's social media. There's so many ads that come in. Don't get emotionally hooked and28:54 buy. Keep buying. Number 5, eat sensitively and sensibly. In other words, enjoy what God has provided, but don't go for that extra portion which29:06 adds on to your life. Number 6, enjoy things without having to own them. In other words, this is 1 of the key things that I've learned many years ago, that I don't need to have luxury things to enjoy life.29:18 I actually can I can I can step into a friend's yacht, for example, and enjoy it for a couple of hours? I don't need to own 1. I can step into a luxury car of a friend. I can enjoy it for a few a few29:29 minutes. I don't need to enjoy I need need to own them. Listen. Learn to enjoy things without having to own them. This will set you free. Number29:41 7, enjoy God created nature. It is free. You know, anything and everything that God has created is good, Like wash that you can walk in or take a walk in the beach, take a walk in the29:52 bush, bush walking, mountain hiking. Just go for a stroll in your neighborhood. Just do prayer walking. All these things are free. Enjoy the beautiful weather.30:04 Enjoy the beautiful sunlight. Enjoy the beautiful fresh air. All these things are free. And number 8, develop a biblical financial plan. Now, I shared this earlier, but let me remind it again.30:16 What do you include in your financial plan? There should be at least these 9 things that I've listed there. 1, tithe. Your 10 percent of your tithe goes to your local church. Secondly,30:28 offering missions, poor, family, generosity fund. All these 5 can come out of your other 10 percent that you give. The next is the insurance. You gotta buy insurance to30:40 to to safeguard your family, isn't it? That's wisdom. Yes, we trust God, but we also need to walk in wisdom. And then investment. Learn to talk to somebody30:52 who can help you with your investment advice. And go with that. And then cash savings. At least have a few things planned out. At least 3 to 6 months of spending money sitting in the bank account,31:04 because that's what you call a buffer. Now, these things are important, and I pray that God will give us wisdom. But in this lesson, the lesson is not a financial advice. So don't say that I acted on what you said, and31:15 this is what it is. This is not a financial advice. You need to ask for a financial adviser to advise you. But what I'm giving you is a spiritual advice, an advice to recognize that whatever God has provided for you, he31:26 has provided for you to enjoy it. At the same time, to steward it wisely. How? Not by investing in things that don't matter in eternity, but invest in things that matter in eternity,31:38 things that last beyond your life on earth. Therefore, you and I can enter into heaven 1 day and be rich in heaven. Why? Because we have already secured so31:50 much. I love that verse how Paul writes, and he says, as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, not to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, riches, but32:02 on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good32:13 foundation for the future, future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. May you find your life in Christ. May you find your security in Christ.32:25 May you find your satisfaction in Christ. May you find your self worth and significance in Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for this day. Thank you for giving us grace to study your32:37 word. Lord, continue to convict our hearts. Continue to give us grace to navigate through our decisions when we spend money wisely. Help us, father, to live a life where we are not only32:49 enjoying what you have provided for us, but we are stewarding it properly. And the best expression of stewardship is obedience. We that we learn to obey what you say. We learn to obey and live a life of33:01 generosity, live a life of servanthood and service to God and his people through the resources that he has provided for us. Give us grace, father, that we will be rich in33:12 heaven, rich in the eternal kingdom. We give you all glory, praise, and honor in Jesus' name. And people of God said, amen and amen. We love you. God bless you. Enjoy the rest33:24 of your life group study. God bless.
Paul Jeyachandran
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