Simple Living – Enjoying What Belongs To God
2003 Searching Series
Psalm 24 & Psalm 33:6-11
November 1, 2003
Purpose: If we’re going to simply our life, we need to recognize that what we enjoy belongs to God, and that, as good stewards, we need to act accordingly.
I. Introduction
This week I had had enough. Every time I would get into my 1994 Mazda Protégé the seat belt buzzer would go off and on erratically depending on how I was situated in the driver’s seat.
For the most part, it was just an inconvenience. If it started to go off as I was going down the road, I’d just shift in my seat and little and eventually I’d find that spot where the buzzer wouldn’t buzz anymore.
That is until this week…
That shifting spot was getting harder and harder to find. I talked to the car dealer, and he said he could replace the whole system, which would cost more than the car is probably worth! I talked to some mechanics that said there was nothing they could do about it. So, I thought about it, and took my tools to the problem.
First, I took out the seat. (This was actually easier than I thought.) Attached under the seat was a line connecting the seat-belt buckle to the buzzer….snip….no line no more.
Second, after getting the seat out, I went after the console where I thought the real problem to be. Finding just the right screws, I was able to loosen it just enough to see the seat belt connections. Snip…snip…snip…no connections no more.
Bottom line…I no longer have that annoying buzzer, it’s gone. However, I know have the “seat belt” warning light is now on all the time…but I guess I can live with that…at least for now.
II. The many buzzers in our lives.
I don’t need to tell you that there are many “buzzers” in our lives that regularly annoy us. Our lives, in many different ways, are getting more and more complicated, and the message we often receive is that we’re not living up to our full potential if we don’t have all the gadgets that complicate our lives.
There is no doubt that life is getting more and more complicated.
And what do we get for it? Well, we’re supposed to get that better life aren’t we? Feeling more secure with who or what we are? But in reality, many feel less and less secure.
We live in a society that values people by what job they have, what car they drive, and what home they live in. So, as the economy falters, as jobs are lost, as fore-closings go up and bankruptcies skyrocket, we’re beginning to see that maybe…just maybe…all the “buzzers” we’ve placed in our lives aren’t worth the hassle. Living a more simple life is really our goal.
Garlinda Burton, editor of the Interpreter magazine wrote an awesome editorial in this month’s edition (Nov.-Dec. 2003) regarding “rediscovering simple gratitude.” In it she said…
“Last week, after the disc got stuck in his DVD player, my 11-year old godson used a knife to force the player open. It no longer functioned, and his mother rushed out to buy him a new one—his second this year.
That same day, a colleague told me about a town in southern Africa, where people are so poor that four churches share one Bible. So precious is that Bible, so rare, that Christians walk for miles just to see the Holy Scriptures being read.
We are entering one of the most holy seasons for Christians, which leads us to the birth of our Savior” she continued. “It is a time for reflection, prayer, grateful hearts and taking stock of how to honor the One who chose birth in a rude barn to demonstrate his love for us all.
In the United States, however, this is also the season of unparalleled spending and avarice, when angels’ songs are often drowned out by the constant ding of cash registers; when those drowning in debt will go down for the third time in the name of “celebrating” Christmas; and when those who have nothing feel even more dehumanized because they can’t afford to buy into the season frenzy.
And yet, in that African town, people will celebrate Advent and Christmas with fervor, simply because they get to see the Jesus story read from the Bible. Despite debilitating poverty, I would wager that those townspeople would enjoy this Christmas much more than, say, my grandson.
As for me, I’m buying my godson his own Bible instead of a leather jacket for Christmas (he lost the leather jacket I got him last year.)”
Simple living…while it may be evidenced in the physical, it is, at its heart, a spiritual issue. How do we correct the trend? Well, first we need to understand that we enjoy what has been given to us.
III. This is a Biblical concept.
The idea that all the possessions we have are really gifts from God is a Biblical one.
In Psalm 33, we hear that it was “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made” and by his very breath, “their starry host” was created. He spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm. – Humankind had nothing to do with it.
In it we hear that “the plans of the Lord will stand firm forever” while he’ll foil the plans of the nations. We hear that “the purposes of his heart (will last) throughout the generations.”
Or in Psalm 24, we hear the familiar words, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it…”
It is those who seek the very face of God, who lift up their heads to see this King of Glory coming, who will receive the blessings.
We need to be thankful that God does not equate the value of a human being with a checking account balance. God does not judge us by the car we drive or the people we claim to know. The Creator of all that we have or will ever have is not impressed by the quantity of toys that we stockpiled. When it is all said and done, the Redeemer and Sustainer of human beings is more concerned with our spiritual needs than our physical wants.
I Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
And in Luke 12 (vs. 13-21, 34), Jesus warns the crowd… “…a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of their possessions…this very night your life may be demanded from you…don’t store things up for yourself, instead be rich toward God…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The truth of it all is that we came into this world with nothing, and we will leave this world with nothing. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to people in their last moments of life on this earth, and I need to tell you, that the last thing they concern themselves with is the car they’re driving, the great career they’ve had, or the number of rooms in their homes. They talk of family, of faith, and of contentment.
It’s the contentment that comes from realizing that we are just enjoying what God already owns. [Sometimes this is difficult to remember. We work hard for the incomes and stuff we receive. We have sweat over our jobs and focused energy on career so we could make the net worth grow and drive the latest automobile or live in the nicer home.
But in the midst of it all, God wants us to have more than just our stuff.
The air we breathe, the water we drink, the wonder of life itself, the planet we live on, the universe—humanity brought none of these things into being. They are gifts we enjoy out of the overflow of God’s love for His creation.
And with the love of God, the gift of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of our sin, the call into being disciples, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the promise of eternal life, we are blessed. None of these things came from anything that we have done! Each is a gift to us from God.]
(adapted from James E. Mead’s “Enjoying What Belongs to God”)
IV. A New View Stewardship
Needless to say, this point of view can radically change how we look at stewardship. Beyond pledge cards, and calculating and defining exactly what tithes are or should be, Biblical stewardship…real stewardship is just the opposite.
We freely use, freely enjoy, and freely give, because we have realized that we are deriving our joy from something greater than our abilities or ourselves. We give because what we have, because it already belongs to the One we’re giving it to.
And here’s a radical thought…God doesn’t need our money or our gifts. In fact, the last thing that God needs in heaven is that new funky $20 bill. What God does want, though, is our loyalty. What God does want is our acknowledgment. What God does want is a relationship with us.
But here’s the other side of the thought…God may not need our money and our stuff, but we need to give it.
It’s our way of being thankful for all that we’ve received.
It’s a way of acknowledging the One who ultimately owns everything.
It is a way for us to set our priorities in order, thereby making life much more simple.
Throughout this month, we’re going to look at simple living. If you look at the front of your bulletin, you may see some sermon titles that may intrigue you.
With each of these sermons, I’m going to give us some exercise that will help us apply to what we’ve learned. Today…you have stickers in your bulletin which say…”This belongs to God.”
The exercise is this…
Each bulletin was given three of these stickers.
Sometime within the next few days, I invite you to place these stickers on your favorite stuff, but
there are some qualifications:
1. The item cannot be religious in nature. (It’s assumed that those things religious are God’s.)
2, The sticker must be placed so that it’s visible. (If you can’t see it, then it can’t help.)
3. You have to use them all!
Next Sunday, we’ll report where our stickers were placed.
V. Conclusion
Over this next month, it is my hope that you’ll be able to rip out your seats, disconnect your buzzers, and start a journey to find more meaning, more joy, more fun in life by getting out from under the burden of so much stuff.
When we make the decision to remove the barrier of stuff that keeps us apart of others, from God, and even from ourselves, we start enjoying what belongs to God as God has intended. Our lives will become more simple. Guaranteed.
Will you join me in prayer?
Heavenly Father…
You are indeed a gracious provider. Since the first days of creation, you have given us all that we would ever need. Whether it be the manna that fell from heaven on the journey from Egypt to the promised land, or the paycheck we receive, or the harvest that gets sold, all that we’ve been given originally came from your abundance.
Lord, we struggle. Many in our community find themselves in debt. Many in our churches have placed a higher value on what they own instead of what they’ve been given. Many in our world are suffering, many do not even have the basic necessities.
Help us to get our priorities straight. Help us to realize that if we’re going to simply our lives, we need to acknowledge that what we enjoy belongs to You, and that, as good stewards, we need to act accordingly.
Help us to find the right places to put our stickers this week. Help us not to brush it off as some nuisance, but to take the idea of Your ownership seriously.
For all that you have provided, for all that you are providing, for all that you will provide. We give you our thanks and praise. Especially we are thankful for the gift of reconciliation and love given to us through your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray…Amen.
#92 – For The Beauty of the Earth
Benediction
As we leave this place,
May the God who provides, provide us with all that we need.
May the God who clarifies, bring us a clearer sense of simplicity.
May the God who loves, forgive us when we fail to see the provision and clarification, he alone offers.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, may this be our prayer….Amen.
Note: If for any reason you did not find this sermon helpful, please let me know by contacting me at gb@clergy.net. Your input will help me personally and my congregation as I learn professionally.
