While on vacation I visited my favorite book store. It’s always one of the highlights of my trip because it has a huge basement full of books, puzzles and knick-knacks. I usually spend most of my time in the basement because I find unusual, interesting things there. On this particular visit I found a plaque about fourteen inches long. It was wooden with a piece of burlap across the front. One word was written clearly on that piece of burlap. “Simplify”. Of course I bought the plaque. That one word drew me with an intensity I couldn’t explain or ignore. It seemed to call me to explore its significance. You are about to read what I discovered when I followed that drawing.
As those who
profess to follow Jesus, do we need to simplify our spiritual lives both
personally and corporately, privately and publicly? Do we need an inner
cleansing that will strengthen our bond with Jesus and enable us to walk in His
Spirit with power and wisdom? Let’s look
at Jesus’ example to help us answer that question.
If
we simplify something, we make it less complex by removing the unnecessary elements.
We remove the clutter to retain only what has value. And we can see it more
clearly once the extra baggage has been removed.
Jesus illustrated for us a life of simplicity. He came down to
us in this world representing His Father and the kingdom of God. He lived a
very simple life with no entanglements to this world. He never limited Himself to the narrow traditions of religion
or certain social classes or the newest trends. Nor did He try to fit in with the
religious leaders because He had only one authority that He was accountable to.
And that was His Father. He said and did what the Father told Him, no
questions asked. He had no agenda of His own. He consistently spoke truth, the
message of His Father, whether He was applauded or criticized. Whether He was
received or rejected. He never struggled with confusion about who to obey, even
in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus never felt a need to defend Himself because
He knew Who He was and why He was here. He knew the religious leaders had no
authority over Him. Even the elements of this world had no authority over Him.
He rested completely in the Father’s control. How could He do this? Because
Jesus lived in the kingdom of God, the kingdom where God’s will is always done,
even while He was here in human flesh.
That is the
place we are to live also. We are to live free from the confinement and the
dictates of this world. Often our interaction with this world draws us into a
place of turmoil and confusion. It lures us away from following Christ in the
purest form of devotion and commitment to Him. It robs us of our simple faith
in Him and His Word. Simply believe Jesus. Put your trust in Him and Him alone.
Life gets terribly complex and frustrating when we try to do what this world
requires and follow Jesus too. That seems to be where the majority of
Christians find themselves. Serving two masters and working feverishly to
please them both. There is a lack of peace when we are not at one with God.
Jesus was one with the Father and prayed that we would be, too. He prayed that
we would know the peace and simplicity of following Him.
Jesus taught the
perfect way to simplify our lives. He said, “No one can serve two masters; for either
he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
(Matthew
6:24)
Mammon is materialism and the elements of this world. If we are serious about
simplifying our lives, we will need to lay aside this world to follow Jesus
just as He followed the Father.
There are two
kingdoms. One is the kingdom of this world. The other is the kingdom of God. We
are born into this world naturally in the flesh. We are born into the kingdom
of God supernaturally in the Spirit. The problem is that many Christians don’t
understand that we can begin living in the kingdom of God now. We can do the
will of the Father instead of the will of our natural disposition. In re-birth,
we have been changed to have the disposition of Jesus. We don’t just try harder
to do right, we become right because our inner self has been changed and the
righteousness of Jesus Christ has been given to us. We can experience the peace
of God, the oneness with Him that goes beyond our understanding. If we are
truly born again, we will not continue to follow the ways of the world or our
old nature. We have to cut ties with them. We now live, move and have our being
in the kingdom of God. There are so many confessing Christians
whose lives are divided into two parts - the physical (natural) and the
spiritual. They conduct their business in the natural realm the same as
everyone else. Most of their lives are spent in natural pursuits –
entertainment, leisure, etc. But they have their devotions with God and attend
church. It is a false security that has no merit. We cannot have one foot in
the world and one in the kingdom of God when it comes to allegiance and
commitment. The two often disagree and we have to make a choice.
That does not
mean we don’t interact with the people in this world. Jesus rubbed shoulders
with the people in this world daily and many times with crowds thronging Him.
But He didn’t rub shoulders with the things of this world. He operated
completely in the realm of God’s kingdom. How else could He heal the sick,
cleanse lepers, cast out devils, raise the dead and calm the storms? How else
could He speak with such authority in His teachings?
Jesus was sent
to the people in this world, including you and me. He was sent to save us and
ultimately give us the same power and the same Spirit that He had. Now we are
the ones who are to do the works of Jesus by the Holy Spirit inside us. Now we
are the ones sent to the people of this world. They are waiting for the word of
salvation that will release them. But we need to be following the will of the
Father before we can show them.
We
know all these things, but we have lost them somehow, somewhere in the clutter
of temporal things. It’s time to break off the bands that have stolen our
freedom. It’s time to realize who we are in Christ Jesus and begin to walk in
it, free from the anxiety of this world. Will we let the fresh wind of God’s
Spirit blow out the cobwebs of the world in us? Will we become one with Jesus
and start walking in the Spirit? We can. Jesus was never held back, confined or
restricted by the expectations of people. Nor was He a self-seeking renegade. Far
from it. He never changed His course based on human expectations whether it was
the common people wanting to make Him a king or the religious leaders plotting
to kill Him. He was simply under the authority of One, His Father. God doesn’t
want us to limit ourselves to what we can produce on our own, but in what He
wants to produce through us.
If we truly want
to simplify we will narrow all our interests down to One – Jesus Christ. Then we
can serve God wholeheartedly. Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit. When we yield
to Him, we can begin bringing things back to their purest form, eliminating all
the clutter of religion that has been added through the years. We can de-clutter,
getting rid of all the glitz, glamour and manmade traditions. We need to
simplify on both the personal and corporate levels. We can be free to serve God
without the pressure that this world imposes on us.
We can be
liberated from traditions of the past as well as the present trends of religion.
We can be free to follow God with a pure heart. It’s time to push off the limits and let Him
lead. It’s time to drop our own agendas, hear from God, then follow Him. If He
says, “be still”, we need to be still. If He says to step out in faith, we need
to step out in faith. We need a fresh flow of the Spirit of God in our lives
and churches. Is our worship in its purest form? Is it man-made or God
breathed? Are we free to worship? Are our prayers in the purest form, or are we
asking God to do things our way instead of listening to His voice? Are we free
in our faith or are there dark places of doubt that hold us back? We can be free in our faith when we hear from
God and follow.
If we try to
serve this world and Jesus, we are trying to coexist in two incompatible
worlds. They contradict each other, and trying to combine them in our hearts
will leave us confused and deluded. We will become double-minded, doubting the
Word of God and doubting the standard of this world. We will be built on an
unstable foundation and will fall. Living such a dualistic life is dangerous
because it gives us false assurance that we are following Jesus when we are
not. We are only truly following Him when we are one with Him.
The choice is up
to each of us. 1 Kings 18:21 says, “And
Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between
two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if
Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”
So, will we follow
Jesus or the accepted values of this world? We cannot do both. Those who are
trying to live in both worlds will find the two are completely incompatible. We
need to simplify and have only one authority in our lives. We cannot
successfully serve the standards of this world and Jesus at the same time. It’s
that simple. We can live in bondage or we can be free.
“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…
But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.”
