I. Intro.
A. We live in a culture of complexity.
1. The western way of life has been too busy, too anxious and too complicated for too long. We have great advancements in technology and medicine that are supposed to make our work easier, our bodies healthier and our social connections stronger, but more often than not that has not been the case.
a. EX: Video streaming initially promised to let us view our favorite programs ‘on demand’ claiming to put us in control. But now this is only possible by downloading several apps, each with it’s own subscription fees.
b. Instead of one user interface (TV) we know have several apps, content is fragmented, multiple passwords, monthly fees, etc.
2. Streaming is just one example of how technology and content has added to the complexity of our lives. But consider these other developments:
a. Work from home blurs the boundaries between home life and career.
b. A phone in every pocket means everyone is always expected to be available.
c. Digital upkeep: updating OS’s, cybersecurity threats, etc.
d. The constant flood of news and information is more than we can process.
3. The result has been a nation where everyone is in a hurry and yet the to-do list never seems to be finished. Our over-stimulated minds crave rest and yet we settle for momentary distraction. We yearn for connection and fellowship but we have forgotten how to gather with our people, if we even know who our people are.
B. The course of this world.
1. As Christians, we are often so busy with the demands of life that we forget to identify and resist the influence of principalities and powers. The scriptures teach us that the world is under their influence, and that we need to discern this and resist it.
2. Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
3. The scripture says that before salvation we were dead, walking the common course of this world. Do you know what they call the walking dead? Zombies.
a. Comes from a Bantu word that means someone who is trapped without free will and bound to endless enslavement, usually under the spell of witchcraft.
b. Depending on your perspective, this is either a parody or a prophetic revelation of the spiritual condition of our culture— walking dead, taken captive to do the will of evil spirits through their influence on their hearts and minds.
4. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 puts it this way:
24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
5. The evil one is trying to keep us so busy, so overwhelmed and anxious that we forget to discern and resist his influence as it drives the course of this world and leads multitudes to to hell.
6. Isaiah prophesied about times like these when he said:
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)
C. It is in these complex times that the Lord would restructure our lives for a return to simplicity.
1. The answer to resisting this influence is a return to simplicity. We need to reject the complexity of modern life that tries to entangle us in a web of digital witchcraft and social media brainwashing like a spider catching its prey.
2. It is in simplicity that we release ourselves from these entanglements. How can we recapture a simple life when we live in such a complex world?
3. How can we be in the world and not of it instead of being of the world in our culture and not in it by sharing the gospel?
4. The scriptures show us how to live a simple life, to have a simple mind and to keep a simple heart. (A simple mind, not a foolish mind.)
5. And to help us keep it simple, the Spirit gives us a guiding principle. It is an attitude of the heart and a perspective of the mind. It is character training that we find in the Lord Jesus Himself. It is the secret of simplicity and it is called contentment.
II. A simple life, a simple mind and a simple heart.
A. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians tells us how to live a simple life.
1. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to a church made up of Jews & Gentiles that was facing intense persecution from without and false teachers from within. Paul himself had to flee the city at night to avoid being captured.
a. The body of Christ is in a similar situation today.
b. His advice to them is just as fitting for us today.
2. 1 Thess 4:10b&11 (Please turn here.)
10b But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
3. Vs 10b “…increase more and more…” How can we increase and live a simple life?
a. increase means ‘abound’, we are to abound, to overflow
b. What did Jesus say about abounding? Jn 10:10 “I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”
c. In the midst of wicked and perverse world, we are to abound in the love, grace and wisdom of Christ.
d. Not to be rich in the things of this world, but in the things of the Spirit.
4. Vs 11 “…that you aspire also to lead a quiet life…”
a. aspire: to strive, make it your goal
b. a quiet life: restful, tranquil, simple, unhurried
c. Making it our goal to lead a simple and peaceful life.
5. Vs 11 “…to mind your own business…”
a. To take care of your own affairs, to manage yourself and what concerns you
b. We care for others and bear one another’s burdens BUT…
c. Do not be entangled with the things of this world (2 Tim 2:4; Gal 5:1; Mt 13:22)
6. Obeying these three commands will enable us to live properly in this world and relate to the lost in a godly way, and if we do this, we will have all that we need and lack nothing.
a. Abound in the life, love and wisdom of Christ.
b. Make it your goal to live a simple and peaceful life.
c. Stay out of the world’s drama and conflict.
B. A simple mind.
1. When I talk about having a simple mind, I do not mean a foolish or naive mind. Many translations use the word simple to mean foolish or naive, but that is not how I am using the word.
2. When I talk about having a simple mind, I mean a mind that is satisfied in God and what He provides. A mind that is quiet and focused on Him, as opposed to a mind that is racing and scheming to get ahead or to keep up with the world.
3. Psalm 131:1
“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.”
4. A simple mind is a focused mind. One of the great traps of the enemy is to tempt us to have an opinion on everything, to be an expert on everything. Once we decide to become a keyboard commentator, opining on every current event and politics, we quickly default to the flesh and entangle ourselves in the cares of the world.
5. A simple mind will resist the pressure to know and understand darkness.
a. Rom 16:19 “I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil.”
b. Rev 2:24-26
24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
6. As a pastor, I find that people have some strange expectations of what I should know and be an expert in. People often expect me to know everything there is to know about cults and false religions. I regularly have people ask me about what Mormons and Muslims believe and why they believe it. They are usually disappointed when I tell them I have no idea.
a. Both were started by a man receiving false revelation from a demon who claimed to be an angel. What do the scriptures say about this?
b. Gal 1:8 “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
c. The very premise of those false religions are demonic from their origins, so why would I bother studying a doctrine of demons?
7. A simple mind is quiet and focused on God.
a. Ps 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
b. Isa 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
8. Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
C. A simple heart.
1. Matt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
2. A simple heart is an undivided heart that knows how to keep its first love in first place.
3. A divided heart is pulled in many directions by ambition, by needs, by desires, by trying to keep up with others, etc. A divided heart is the result of settling its affections on a complex world, it soon becomes pulled apart and weighed down by the pressure to have it all.
4. In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus addresses the issues that divide our heart and complicate our lives. He teaches us how to avoid these snares of the evil one and keep a simple, undivided heart.
a. Vs 19-21 Focus on one treasure.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
b. Vs 24 Honor one Master, our Father in heaven.
“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.”
c. Vs 33&34 Seek one kingdom, one day at a time.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
5. One treasure, one Master, one kingdom, one day at a time. This is our focus if we want to keep a simple heart.
III. Contentment: the guiding principle that helps us to keep it simple.
A. Some things money can’t buy.
1. 1 Timothy 6:6-8
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
2. So many people believe that contentment will only be found in the future, after they reach their financial goal or milestone. (Retirement, promotion, house payoff, $1mil in retirement assets, etc.) But this is a lie and a snare of the enemy because we can be content each and every day whilst we work towards these goals.
3. The evil one is trying to trick us into believing that we can either have peace now or peace later but we can’t have it all the time. But that is a lie. The Lord has made it so that we can be peaceful and content every day, no matter the situation.
4. This is what the Spirit is saying to us in these verses:
a. godliness: a holy life, a devout life with God at the center
b. contentment: sufficient in the needs of life, a mind at peace with it’s lot
c. gain: acquistion
5. When we can be pleased by living a holy life and having our needs met we will have something that money can’t buy. We think we need money to buy an attitude. We think we need money to buy a perspective. But the scripture says that when we can live a holy life and be happy to have our needs met, we will have acquired something that money just can’t buy.
a. And we can have it now, not later.
b. We can have it now, regardless of our income.
B. Contentment is the barrier to complexity.
1. Too often we are led into a complicated life out of fear or ambition. Fear of not having enough or the ambition to have it all. But when we are content with God and what He provides, it takes the power away from those temptations.
2. I’m not suggesting that we don’t work, become lazy and cast off restraint. Work is a gift form God and not part of the curse.
a. 1 Thess 4:11 “…work with your own hands..”
b. Prov 14:23 “In all labor their is profit…”
c. But we are called to work from rest, not from stress.
d. Contentment comes from being satisfied in Christ & what He provides.
C. Contentment is the secret of simplicity.
1. Philippians 4:11-13
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
2. Paul said “I have learned…”. He learned by suffering and choosing the Lord to be his source rather than this world. He lived by this principle of contentment and he writes to us with authority from experience.
3. Paul learned that his attitude of contentment, his internal disposition and the state of his heart and mind, were not dependent on his situation. Neither money or the lack of it could determine his attitude because he was satisfied with Christ.
4. When we are satisfied with Jesus, we can fulfill His calling now matter the circumstances.
5. The secret of simplicity, to leading a simple life, to having a simple mind and having a simple heart, is to always be satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. Closing.
A. Recap.
1. Don’t let the evil one bring you under his influence by overwhelming you with the
complexities of living in this western culture.
2. 1 Thess 4:10&11 Keep a simple life.
a. Abound in the life, love and wisdom of Christ.
b. Make it your goal to live a simple and peaceful life.
c. Stay out of the world’s drama and conflict.
3. Keep a simple mind by staying focused on God and keep yourself free from the knowledge of evil.
4. And keep a simple heart by keeping one treasure, serving one Master, a citizen of one kingdom, living one day at a time.
5. The peace that you thought was far off in your future is available today if you will be satisfied in God and what He provides for you.