“Simplicity
– The Way of Jesus”
July 10, 2005
First Presbyterian Church
Carson City
Pastor
Bruce Kochsmeier
Purpose:
For people to discover the wonder of following Jesus by learning simplicity and
how simple leads to joy.
I’m indebted to Chuck and Luci Swindoll for the following story.
If it’s about you don’t worry I’m not using any names.
And if you’ve heard it you’ll appreciate how it makes the point of
our scripture.
It seems that a harried traveler at an airport was worried about missing his plane. He had forgotten his wristwatch and couldn’t locate a clock. (MUST have been the Las Vegas airport!) So he ran up to a stranger who happened to be carrying a couple of large suitcases in his hands. He stopped the guy and asked, “Would you tell me what time it is?”
The fellow said, “Sure.” He
put both bags down, pulled up the sleeve on his wrist, and said, “It is
exactly 5:09, the temperature outside is 73 degrees, and it is supposed to rain
tonight. In London the sky is clear
with a high today of 28 degrees Celsius, with the barometer at 29.14 and
falling. Let’s see, ion Singapore
the sun is shining brightly. And…oh,
this is interesting. The moon will
be full in Los Angeles tonight.”
“Your watch tells you all of that?
Said the traveler, in wonder. “Sure.
In fact, it tells me much more. You
see, I invented this watch, and I can assure you there’s no other timepiece on
earth like it.”
“That’s a watch I simply must have!” exclaimed the traveler.
“May I buy it? I’ll give
you two thousand dollars for it. I’ve
got the cash right here.”
“No,” replied the inventor, “it’s not for salve.”
Then he reached down to pick up his suitcases and started to leave.
“Wait!” the first man insisted.
“How about three thousand dollars?”
The inventor paused, shook his head, and said, “No.
You see, I can’t sell it to you. I
made this watch for my son. I
invented it for him to enjoy.”
“Okay, five thousand dollars. I
will give you five thousand dollars cash.”
“No. I’m sorry. It’s not for sale.”
By now the traveler had grown desperate.
“Ten thousand dollars! I
want that watch.”
The inventor couldn’t believe his ears.
“Ten thousand dollars?” You’ll
give me ten thousand dollars for this watch?”
And the traveler said, “I will. I’ve
got the money.”
“Okay,” said the inventor, it’s a deal,” and he held out his hand
for the money. After counting out
the ten thousand dollars, the traveler grabbed the watch as soon as the inventor
could take it off. A great satisfied smile stretched across his face as he
snapped the wristwatch on and started to walk away.
But before he could take a step, the inventor stopped him.
“Wait!” As he reached
down for the suitcases, he said, “Don’t forget the batteries.”
Jesus loved simplicity and called us to seek it
above all else. In the same way
Paul understood that to know meaning is to know Jesus and that means living
simply. But how much of the time
are we weighed down by the batteries?
Too often we say, “I need to get my spiritual batteries re-charged”
when the reality is we aren’t meant to run on batteries but by the alternating
current of being plugged into Jesus Christ.
Jesus uses the simple, beautiful things around us to make perhaps his
most direct statement about how we are to live our lives.
He keeps it very simple. He
says, “Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness; (God’s character) and
all the things you really need will be yours as well.
Don’t look beyond today.”
This is so simple. It is so
beautiful. It is so liberating.
It can so connect us to God. It
can fill us with joy and hope and purpose…if…IF simple is what we want.
Jesus lived simply. If I
want to be like Jesus I need to live as he did.
In a secular world torn by war; in a Western world that is impoverished
by its wealth people STILL say Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived – non
Christians say this. People who
don’t believe in say this.
It is my greatest desire that we SHOW this to those who believe this.
It is my desire in this series that we would experience Jesus living in
us. And so this morning I want to
be very candid and very simple with you about how this can happen for God’s
glory and our joy.
How does this happen? Jesus
states very simply, by looking out for what God looks out for.
We lose our anxiety when our hearts are focused on the things to which
Jesus gives his heart. This is why
Paul late in his life says the one thing he wants is to be like Jesus even and
especially if it involves entering Jesus’ suffering because it was in being
willing to accept this that Jesus showed what real meaning is in this short
life.
A mentor and acquaintance of mine, Pastor Chuck Swindoll has introduced
me to a poem that speaks to this:
One ship drives east and another drives west
With
the selfsame winds that blow.
‘Tis
the set of the sails
And
not the gales
Which
tell us the way to go.
The winds of life blow all around us.
Paul cautioned against being blown every which way by them.
Having done a little sailing in my San Diego youth I can tell you the
difference of which the poem speaks is all the difference in life.
If we are really going to know about the kingdom and righteousness of God
we will need to set our sails for the simplicity of Jesus Christ to fill them
up.
There is a beautiful American hymn from 1848 called “Simple Gifts”.
It is a tune as well known as “Amazing Grace”.
And it speaks of God’s amazing grace, but like grace it is something of
which we speak and have seemingly more trouble living.
The words say,
‘Tis
a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free,
‘Tis
a gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill
be in the valley of love and delight.
When
true simplicity is gain’d
To
bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To
turn, turn will be our delight
‘Till
by turning, turning we come round right.
The simplicity of Jesus Christ will be our delight as we learn to let him
love us. We let this happen by
turning simply again and again until it becomes part of us to do so; until
instead of discouragement our turning our lives over to Jesus becomes our
delight.
This is what it means to seek first the kingdom of God.
It means simply looking at our lives every day and letting God teach us
how simple it really is to know him.
This is a continual journey. It
is meant to be a joyful one even when it is hard; even when it is painful
because it is one in which Jesus Christ offers himself to us and offers in his
Holy Spirit to change us to see how right it is to give God everything we have
– our time, our resources, our doubt, our hopes and dreams, our kids, our
fears, our parents, our jobs, every day.
I’d like to share with you several ways to simplicity that come from
seeking FIRST God’s kingdom as I have gleaned from the wisdom of my friend
Pastor Chuck.
First, most of us say yes to far too many things.
One man put it so well, “Much of our activity today is little more than
a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.”
We need to learn to say NO in order to say yes.
Second, most of us do not plan time for leisure and rejuvenation.
As we discussed in the first leg of the sermon what does Jesus invite us
to do when we are weary? Rest.
What do we do? Often more stuff. It
is idolatry and self-abuse. Simplicity
is putting rest on the calendar DAILY.
Third, most of us rarely experience the joy of accomplishment.
Savor a job well done and recognize when it is.
Prayer and worship; time with God and the people God has placed in our
lives.
Fourth, here we go from preaching to meddling.
Most people living in wealthy countries owe more than the can hope to
repay. What word do all of us know?
Charge! And we aren’t
talking about a military conflict. How
about learning the word, “WAIT” let God show us how HE will provide?
Isn’t this the simplicity of which Jesus speaks?
There is such joy and power in realizing we never really needed whatever
it was we thought we had to have in the moment.
But just so this doesn’t sound like another self-improvement, pull
ourselves up by the bootstraps, one more thing we gotta do for God let’s
remember that this path to simplicity is one that leads to love and joy.
So first let me ask you a question I have had to be humbled by; Do you
spend adequate time with God? I
haven’t been lately. It has worn
me out. I simply need to take time
every day and throughout the day to LISTEN to what God has to say about
everything I’m facing. Are we
doing this? What is it that has
complicated our simple devotion to Jesus Christ?
Are good things keeping you from choosing God’s best?
I’ve had to learn and am learning again and again to let God glean from
my life some very good things in order that I may have the best.
Remember Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father loves you much more than
these.” Am I giving God room to
love me by letting go of the good in order to make room for the best?
This is the key to becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with
Jesus Christ. I need to let him
simplify my life in very practical terms.
What kind of turning in your life needs to happen so that you may simply
live in the love God has for you? I
don’t know, but I know it’s probably not much different than my story of the
story of the person next to you. And
I know that you and I need to grow in simplicity every day until we stand face
to face with Jesus Christ. So I
know that today is the day I need to simplify.
I know it is a day I need to practically let God’s love come into my
life to replace the good things (and certainly the not good things) that have
taken over room for the best things God has for all of us.
How are you setting your sail today?
Is it time to let Jesus Christ simplify your sailing and blow you into a
new way of living for him? I hope
you will. May we all because when this journey is over it is what will
matter. It already is.
Think about it and simplify for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.