Skip to content 11. Simplicity of Life Sep 7 · 27 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 study God's word together. Today, we will be talking about the simplicity of life.0:21 This teaching is normally about 2 hours, and so we may do at least 4 parts to this series. So today's part 1, simplicity of life. The text is from Matthew chapter 6, and verses0:33 25, all the way to verse 34. Now, want you to pay attention to this. Richard Foster, in his classic book, Celebration of Discipline, he begins with these0:44 words. He says, superficiality is the curse of the age. Superficiality is the curse of our age. Our words are superficial. Our0:56 relationships are shallow. Our actions lack authenticity. We end up having rituals without reality. Relationships without love. And we1:08 have duty without delight. I want you to listen to me carefully. Superficiality is the curse of our age. The reason why there is a superficiality1:20 is because our lives are fragmented and fractured. That's why, in the past few weeks, we've been studying about singleness of heart, cultivating and1:31 developing a singleness of heart. That was the emphasis that Jesus placed to the disciples. In Matthew chapter 6, we talked about the single treasure, the single eye,1:43 the single master, from Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 to 34. But from Matthew chapter 6 verse 25, all the way to 34, Jesus explains how do we live that1:55 singleness of heart. That singleness of heart is expressed, is manifested with simplicity of life. Now, you and I, we need to pay attention to the simplicity of life.2:07 That's why we're going to study this. Because our lives should be whole before God, not fragmented, not fractured. Our life needs to be single-minded, single hearted in our2:18 devotion to Christ. So today, as we study the word, I want us to pay attention to this. How do we develop the simplicity of life? What does it actually mean? So I'm going to cover 2 things today. 1, it is2:30 the spirit of simplicity. Number 2, it is the spheres of simplicity. So today, will touch on 1 sphere of simplicity, where we need to emphasize simplicity of2:42 life, where we need to simplify our life. In Matthew chapter 6, verse 25, all the way to 34, there is 1 phrase that is repeated over and over again. 32:54 times it is repeated. Do not be anxious. Then Jesus gives us the illustration from the life of lilies and from the and the life of3:06 birds of the air. And he says, consider them. Pay attention to them. Observe them. They do not worry. They do not they do not fret about tomorrow. But God, in3:18 his mercy, takes care of all of them. And so he deals with the anxieties of life that plagues the human heart. So today, we want to talk about the spirit of simplicity.3:30 And John Wesley, when he was teaching on discipleship, he always emphasized on Matthew chapter 6, and he says Matthew chapter 6 is his favorite passage of scripture.3:42 And this is 1 of the parables he used to say. And I want you to catch this parable. Listen to this. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful lily. The lily's best friend was a sparrow3:54 who would visit with her nearly every day. Together, they enjoyed watching how a farmer and his family lived. They saw the farmer and his wife working hard4:06 to make a living. Over the years, the land yielded much fruit. But a funny thing that the lily and the sparrow observed, that was, as the more the couple gathered,4:18 the more they needed. 1 day, the sparrow said to the lily, all their hard work is paying off. They have made a success of their farm and increased in wealth in the last4:30 few years. I know, replied the lily, but have you also noticed that along with their increase, they have less and less time for each other? They have quit going to4:41 church, and I hear them arguing more and more. Come to think of it, I used to see the farmer and his wife taking long walks. Sometimes they walked together hand in hand.4:54 At some other times, each would take a break from work and go for a stroll alone in the woods, talking with the Lord. Nowadays, however, they are too busy for that. The sparrow5:06 added, yes, they have also bought a holiday home in Queensland so that they can have a nice warm place to go to when it gets cold here. No wonder they have to work even5:18 harder now. Lily, the sparrow went on, when they were in church, do you think they heard the heavenly father telling them to take a closer look at you and me and to learn the secret of5:29 simplicity in how he takes care of his creation? It seems to me they are complicating their lives. To all this, the beautiful Lily replied, why is it that people go to school,5:41 read their textbooks, and learn many great things, yet they are not smart enough to read God's textbook on life, and apply the lessons in it. Yes, said the sparrow,5:53 then they too can fly and be free. I want you to pay attention to this. Where is this parable taken from? Matthew chapter 6 verses 25 to verse 34.6:05 Do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about life. Do not be anxious about life. Why would Jesus say this? Jesus already addressed that the singleness6:17 of heart is what we need to bring before the Lord. The allegiance, the core allegiance. Now, this inward reality of singleness of heart will always result in an6:29 outward lifestyle of simplicity. You and I cannot have simplicity of life unless we have singleness of heart, or singleness6:41 of life. Why? Because with divided allegiance, with double loves plaguing our single heart, with conflicting pursuits, life becomes complicated. That's why I want you to pay attention to this.6:52 Simplicity begins with a singular inward focus. The highlight of this text from Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 to 34, is verse 33.7:04 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Why did Jesus say seek first? He's talking about not7:16 just a sequence of priorities, he's talking about a statement of preoccupation. He says, this 1 thing, and this 1 thing alone, in that inward, singular, inward7:28 focus, 1 thing that you need to pledge your allegiance to. Why? Without that, if you have divided allegiance, life becomes complicated.7:40 Divided allegiance. You know, there's a verse in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 29. In the Good News Translation, it says this, This is all that I have learned,7:53 that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. Many schemes is what they say in ESV translation. But look at this in Good News translation. It says, but we have made ourselves8:04 very complicated. In other words, who's the genius that complicated your life? You. God made life simple, but we have complicated it. Why?8:16 Because our heart wants too many things. Remember, we want both kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. We want to serve8:27 God and mammon, and we are seeing too many things, and as a result, our lives are fragmented. So 1 of the core things that spirit of simplicity is8:39 about developing a singleness of heart. That's why Jesus says, you and I, we need to seek first the kingdom of God. See, even in the life of8:51 Jesus, when the disciples approached him 1 time, this is what he said in John chapter 4 and verse 34, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his purpose.9:03 In other words, Jesus' life was characterized by 1 thing. That 1 thing is to will the will of the Father, to do the will of the Father. So simplicity is all about willing the will of the9:15 Father, willing to do that 1 thing. So simplicity is to will 1 thing, to pledge your allegiance to 1 person, to give your heart to 1 thing. And that is what9:27 Jesus was saying. It was not only the life of Jesus. You can also see this in the life of the apostles. In fact, apostle Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 and verse9:39 13, brothers, I do not consider myself that I have made it my own, but 1 thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind and straining toward what is ahead.9:50 1 thing I do. The psalmist David says this in Psalm 27 and verse 4. 1 thing I have asked of the Lord, and this 1 thing I will seek after,10:02 that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Hallelujah. This 1 thing is something that you and I, we need to cultivate. What is the 1 thing that characterizes10:14 your life? What is the 1 thing that you're passionately pursuing? What is the 1 thing that you're preoccupied with? What is the 1 thing that is defining your purpose in life? What is that 1 thing to a life of a10:26 disciple that 1 thing is discipleship unto Jesus? To help to make him the Lord of their life, and to live the rest of their life in obedience to him, in submission to him,10:38 fulfilling the mandate that he has for their life. Hallelujah. Jesus himself said to Mary, 1 thing is needed. Isn't it? To Mary and Martha, in Luke chapter 10 and verse10:50 42, Jesus said, 1 thing is needed. So let's come back to this. Inward reality of singular focus results in an outward lifestyle11:02 of simplicity. Without the inward reality, if you just have outward lifestyle of simplicity, you will end up11:13 with legalism. Because you would say, why am I the only 1 living like this? Everyone should live like that. And you will be comparing yourself with others, and you will become a Pharisee.11:25 But if you do have the inward reality of singleness of heart, but you don't have the outward reality, outward lifestyle change of being simple, living a simple11:37 life, what would happen is you will lack authenticity. So what we need is a combination of both. We need the inward reality of single heart, singleness of11:48 purpose, singleness of passion, singleness of pursuit, singleness of preoccupation, in the same manner, we also have an outward lifestyle of12:00 simplicity. Praise God. Now, I started by sharing with you about John Wesley. Here's an interesting fact about John Wesley. He's the founder of the Methodist12:12 movement. So all the Wesleyan churches, the Methodist churches, he's the founder. Now, John Wesley used to earn about 30 pounds every month. And when he12:24 was earning 30 pounds, his expenses were about 28 pounds. So he would spend 28, save 2, and give it away. Now,12:36 as he continued to increase in popularity, his books were received by many people. He was traveling and preaching extensively. As a result, his income actually12:48 doubled, tripled, and in 1 point, his income was about 1400 pounds per month. But his expenses were still curbed at 28 pounds13:00 every month, and he gave the rest away. Now, John Wesley was a radical. Now, John Wesley encouraged his church, and in his days, he writes about13:11 500 church members, 1 in 500, would do that. I want you to listen to me carefully. He was a radical. The reason why he wanted to live like that is because he13:23 wanted to curb, he wanted to escape the grip of materialism. He wanted to deny himself the god of this world. He wanted to escape the lusts of the world and13:35 the desires of the world. That was his own passionate pursuit. He wanted to keep 1 thing. The 1 thing was about pursuing Christ and his kingdom. Whereas, when you look13:47 at the world today, today we are caught up with such a busy life, caught up with the we are caught up with the system of the world. And13:59 people, there's no difference between a Christian and a non Christian in their pursuits, in their passions, in their preoccupations. That's why we need to examine our life. See, the14:10 double minded Christian, we've been talking about the double minded Christian, the life of a double minded Christian is fractured and fragmented. Why? Because they are caught up with the system of the14:22 world. They lose the art of simplicity, of life, a simple life of devotion before God. Now, when you lose, when our life14:33 loses the beauty of simplicity, it will take on the tyranny of fragmentation. Thomas Kelly, in his article, in his essay, The Simplification14:45 of Life, says this. 1 moment, he makes decisions based on reason. Another time, based on fears of what people say. Yet another occasion, based on greed or jealousy. He has no14:57 anchor for his soul, no inner compass that consistently points to the true north, and no divine center to return to. How sad is that? See, listen to me carefully.15:09 A man with 2 watches will never be sure of the time. A man with 2 allegiance will never be loyal to 1. A man with 2 loves in his15:21 heart will always be complicated in his life. Listen to me. That's why what Jesus is saying is we need to have that simplicity of life. And for us to develop that simplicity of life, it15:32 begins with a singleness of heart. So, what do we need to cultivate? We must intentionally cultivate a singular inward focus and a singleness of heart. Hallelujah.15:45 Secondly, I want to talk about the sphere of simplicity. This sphere of simplicity is where do we want to exercise simplicity? I want to give you 4 things, and then we will break it down. Number15:57 1, simplify your pace. Secondly, simplify your priorities. Thirdly, simplify your possessions. And fourthly, simplify your16:08 purpose. For today's study, we're going focus on the first 1, simplify your pace. Now, remember when I was teaching this at the Bible College,16:20 when I said simplify your pace, someone mistook it as simplify your face, because my P and my F was pronunciation was different. Simplify your face.16:32 Do you think we need to simplify your face? Maybe. You know, a woman asked the pastor, how much makeup is too much? The pastor replied, it depends on the face.16:45 A young girl went to the priest, a Catholic priest, to ask for forgiveness. As she was confessing her sin, she said, father, I have sinned. What did you do? Every16:57 day, every waking moment, I keep thinking how pretty I am, how beautiful I am, and I keep thinking this. I know it is a sin. Please, I ask for forgiveness. And the father said, no. No. No. This is17:08 not a sin. This is only a mistake. You're mistaken. Listen to me carefully. Simplify your pace. What does it mean to17:20 simplify your pace? The modern man is hurried. He's stressed. He's obsessed with life in the fast lane. You and I, we have been examining this, that we rush here, we rush there, we17:32 become Russians. You know, do you know that right up to 1950s, there was no talk about stress? Stress is, in fact, a word that was coined in17:44 the 1950s. And the man who came up with it, Doctor. Selly. Doctor. Selly. S E L Y E. Doctor. Selly. And this is what he says.17:56 During those days that means prior to 1950s there was no telephones. There were no newspapers. There were no daily newspapers. There were no cars. There were no electricity. There was18:07 no TV. No late night. People went early to bed and early to rise. And there was no sense of urgency. The only time they ran was when there was a18:19 storm, and they had to bring all the livestock into safety. That was the only time. Otherwise, was no rush. There was no sense of urgency. But today, just think about it. Today, we18:31 have smartphones not just telephone, but smartphones. We not just have daily newspapers, we get instantly the news on our social media platforms. Today, it's all about luxury goods.18:44 It's not just about TV, it's about laptops, and iPads, and 1 device, a phone in your hand. And people are staying up late, and they work long18:55 hours, and they stay longer, and they sleep less, and there is a fast paced society. You and I, we know that this is how life is experienced in this19:07 modern day and age. All this is attributed to this 1 word called progress. Progress. When man made progress in the Industrial19:19 Revolution, when man made progress through advancement of technology and science, Education and materialism was brought into forefront. As a result, what19:30 happens? People's lives become complicated. That's why 1 of the core things you and I, we need to do is to simplify our pace. Listen to this interesting article.19:42 It is Psalms 23, the antithesis. It says this, the clock is my dictator. I shall not rest. It makes me lie down only when exhausted.19:54 It leads me to deep depression. It hounds my soul. It leads me in circles of frenzy for activity's sake, even though I run frantically from task to20:06 task. I will never let it get it all done, for my ideal is with me. Datelines and my need for approval, they drive me. They demand performance from me,20:18 beyond the limits of my schedule. They anoint my head with migraines, my in basket overflows. Surely fatigue and time pressures shall follow me all the days of my life, and20:30 I'll dwell in the bonds of frustration forever. How sad is that? I don't know how many of you can relate to those things. There is such a pace, like in 120:42 of my previous messages I mentioned, that our soul and our body are out of sync. There is so much disease because there's no ease. The20:53 pace is so fast. A pastor by the name of Wayne Oates in the year 19 68, he introduced the21:05 term called workaholism in his article for Pastoral Psychology. He's the 1 who coined the word workaholism. And this is how he defined it.21:16 Workaholism is an addiction to our work, as a source of our identity and self worth. Many times the pace is so fast, because we are21:28 addicted to work. And he describes there are different types of workaholics. The first 1 is an identity workaholic. This identity21:40 workaholic, he defines the work defines his life. In other words, he gets his identity from the work that he does. So without that, he would be a nobody.21:51 Secondly, it's the perfectionist. The perfectionist is you must make every task flawless. He functions on that principle of perfectionism. I need to make everything flawless, so he22:03 will sit on it and make it perfect, even better, even better. Thirdly, it's the approval seeker. The approval seeker is someone who is afraid to say no to22:15 others, so he keeps on taking more in his life. The fourth 1 is an escapist. You escape from other painful problems in your life. This is a person22:26 who doesn't want to deal with what's going on in his life, so he stays longer at workplace, or he focuses on work in order to ignore all the other pains in his life.22:39 Number fifth 1 is a materialist. This person has an insatiable desire for possessions. So he keeps driving himself to22:50 increase his workload, so that he can buy more gadgets in his life. Listen. Why is our life complicated? Our life is complicated23:01 because society in general, with the advancement of everything, has become a fast paced society. Plus, there are burdens and heavyweight23:13 responsibilities that are placed upon us, and 1 of them is the workaholism. But we need to identify these things because if you want to simp if you want to simplify your pace, you need to examine23:25 why you do what you do. And 1 of the core things you and I, we are we are told is to examine what are we carrying, what is on our plate. Like, if you go to23:36 a go to a counselor and ask, I feel very I feel very stressed, I feel overburdened, I feel overloaded, I have all this stress I'm23:48 carrying. What would they say? They would say, look at your life and your schedule, and they would say, slow down. But when you come to Christ, he doesn't say slow down. He actually24:00 says, center down. There is a big difference between slowing down and centering down. Because you can slow down on your external24:11 pace, and yet the condition of your heart is never addressed. The reasons why your plate is overloaded, or the reasons why you feel so24:23 feel like you're in a pressure cooker environment. That's why 1 of the core things that you and I, we need to pay attention to in a disciple making church, is this. It is not about slowing down, but it's about24:35 centering down. This is how Jesus said it to his disciples. In Mark chapter 6 and verse 31, he said to them, come away by yourselves to a desolate place. In other24:47 words, a lonely place, and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Look at that. Jesus had a busy schedule.24:58 Jesus had so many competing needs of the people. But you know what Jesus did? He took some time to come away.25:10 See, I already explained to you, if you don't come away, you will come apart. And part of coming away is not so that you would completely stop doing all that you do,25:22 but you need to come back and examine why you do what you do, and center down. So the key thing is not slowing down, but centering down. What does that mean? It means that I want to25:34 recalibrate my inner compass, so that I have a steady compass that navigates my life. So I'm not trying to steady my25:45 life first, but I'm steadying my heart first. And if my heart is pointed to 1 core allegiance, what is of greater importance? Then everything else25:57 in my life will become aligned. So let's look at the difference between cutting down and centering down. This is what it means. Cutting down, it deals with our busyness. That means I want to slow down.26:09 I don't want to take so much on on my plate. So that's cutting down. Whereas if you do centering down, it deals with our lostness. See, sometimes in the middle of doing so many things, we26:21 forget why we do what we do. We have that sense of lostness. In other words, we have forgotten the God given mandate. We've forgotten the call of God, the26:32 missional purpose that we need to be engaged in. We forgot because our compass is not pointing to the true north. So there's a sense of lostness. Cutting down questions our capacity. I26:44 can't handle most, I gotta reduce. Centering down questions our confusion. Why am I confused in the first place? I wanna examine what is going on. What is my26:56 inner life? Why is that a churning? Cutting down offers us a consolation. Centering down
Paul Jeyachandran
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