Don't Overcomplicate Jesus
February 02, 2021
Jennie Allen
Bible teacher, founder of IF:Gathering
The vision for this season is that everything is spinning and there's a lot of chaos. 2020 completely changed everything about us. We are completely different people than we were a year ago. When you're spinning, the hope is that someone will grab you by the shoulders and tell you what's true. You hope they'll tell you how to think in this season and how to stop spinning emotionally and spiritually and relationally. We're starting this season with a simple faith and what it looks like to keep that simple faith in the midst of a very complicated spiritual environment that we all have right now.
WHY HAS IT GOTTEN COMPLICATED TO FOLLOW JESUS?
I was visiting with somebody this morning and we were talking about exactly this thing. We were talking about how it feels like it's gotten complicated to follow Jesus in America. I would say it's not supposed to be complicated to follow Jesus - it's supposed to be costly and at times very difficult, but not complicated. The Bible says there will be times we're hated because of our faith and times we are going to experience resistance from the enemy in our lives. It's not supposed to be easy to follow Jesus, but it's not supposed to be complicated either. It is supposed to stay somewhat simple. I think this is one of the problems right now with the Western church. It has gotten so complicated and divisive and we have so many dominations and theological camps. I had somebody accuse me publicly of some things just because we disagree on one verse, but we probably agree on almost every other verse in the Bible. But we view something that's considered a "gray" issue differently, and it cost me a big feud.
We all feel like there's a lot of pressure to get everything right. We have to have our social issues publicly stated somewhere and stay grounded in some camp, but also love people too. It just feels like it's too hard! I think we have made it too difficult. What's clear in scripture is there is one main thing. And when you get that one main thing right, a lot of other things fall into place.
KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING
Matthew 6:33 says this, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added to you." I believe that verse has been one of the greatest verses in my faith and I come back to it again and again and again. Why? If my heart is close to Jesus and my relationship is right with Jesus, if I'm pleasing him, walking with him, listening to him, asking him to show me my sin, asking him to guide me, do you think that he would withhold what he wants me to do? He's going to be clear with you. I'm not saying you'll never have to make a decision - I think a lot of times God just says turn right or turn left, either one is fine. In a lot of ways, we want to follow God, do the right thing, be obedient, and it feels like we're just spinning because it's so complicated. But really he probably just wants to grab us by the shoulders and say, "You follow me, you're my sheep, I'm the shepherd, stay close to me, and I know where we're going. I'm not confused. I'll take care of you and we'll get there together."
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BE ASKING YOURSELF?
As we approach this whole season, what I want you to be thinking about is this question: how is my relationship with Jesus? I don't mean your quiet time, church attendance, or good works. I mean your walking, talking, living relationship with Jesus. Are y'all close? Are you in conversation all the time? Are you asking him what he thinks about things? Are you taking every wonder and worry that you have to him? That's how scripture says we are to control the chaos and stop spinning. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
God knew 2020 was going to happen when inspired Paul to write these words. Let's be real - Rome was way worse than we have it in America. It's not as if he's saying this tritely or with naive faith that life is going well for Christians. He tells us what to do instead of spiraling and spinning in anxiety. We bring every worry, fear, concern, hope, question, decision to God in prayer. And be grateful as you do it! Don't be afraid as you do it. We need to be those people that are full of peace that goes beyond anyone's understanding - even our own understanding! Because God is issuing it - it is a supernatural peace that is promised to us. If we go to God with every worry and talk to him about it and present all of this to God, there is a supernatural peace that comes from that relationship with Jesus that guards our hearts and minds.
This isn't easy. I know some of you are going, "that sounds great, but you do not understand my situation or what I'm going through." You're right. I don't know what you're struggling with, but I've probably heard it or lived it. I know a lot of reasons to be anxious right now. When I wake up at 3am every night, I have to make a choice to either trust God or wake up and worry. I understand worry and anxiety. But I have found this to be true: trusting Jesus with the concerns of my life does cause me to not spin nearly as much.
HOW DO WE LIVE THIS OUT?
I know some of you want some practical steps of how to live out this simple faith, so I wanted to answer a few questions you guys sent in:
I don't feel like praying, reading my Bible, or being accountable to people. I'm so hard-pressed by life I can barely breath. Where does my discipline in these things differ from legalism?
I don't think we're hard-wired to want to be disciplined. I think we're probably hard-wired to be lazy and comfortable. Romans talks about that - we want to satisfy our flesh and we hate the things of God. That's just the way we are built. Yet, when we feed our flesh we find sin and death, but when we feed the spirit we find life and peace - that's Romans 8. The life and peace God offers us is a road we have to choose. It's not just something that magically appears in our life because we become a Christian - it's something that is promised to us for eternity, but it's not something that just daily finds us when we aren't choosing to walk by the spirit.
This is a choice every single hour, every single day. When I get really anxious, I have to ask myself, "what is making me so anxious?" I have to name it. Then the next question is, "do I trust God with that thing?" Sometimes the answer is no! Sometimes I am so afraid he is going to take this thing away from me and have a bad plan that involves suffering, that I will wrap my hands around that thing and not let go of it. I think I have a better plan than God!
I think that reading the Bible and praying and being accountable to people in our lives - all these things that God calls us to - is not because of legalism. We don't have to do those things for him to approve of us or for us to be right with him. We do those things because they lead us into a relationship with God. They lead us into wisdom and onto the road of life and peace. I have seen this again and again in my own life. If I'm following Jesus and I'm going in that direction, there are natural gifts from that! Like the supernatural peace we talked about earlier. It's not that life is easy - circumstances still befall us. But we have a peace in the midst of those circumstances because we follow Jesus, because we know his word, because we spent a lot of time in conversation with him.
Some of you are hearing this and you've never prayed like that. You've never prayed as you're going through life. That's how it's supposed to be! It's supposed to be a relationship and a friendship. Jesus calls us friends! He says my sheep know my voice. That intimate relationship is how this is supposed to go. Some of you have gone to church for your whole life and prayed to receive Christ but you've never had that intimate relationship with him. That is why it feels like your faith is dead! You are meant to begin a relationship with him that leads to a deeper trust and knowledge of him. How is that different from legalism? I would ask what's your motivation? I stay disciplined because I expect there to be trouble in my life and an enemy that's wanting to attack me. I want to stay disciplined and connected to God so I can fight the enemy. In fact, Paul in another passage lays out the armor of God and protection from the enemy. It's the belt of truth - scripture. The breastplate of righteousness - obedience. The gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit. These are weapons to fight off the enemy. We've got to see these practices as our tools to protect ourselves! The enemy is coming for you if you love Jesus. Sin is coming for you - you will be tempted a lot, but nothing you don't have the power to withstand. You're not going to have that power if you are not accessing the weapons and tools God has given you to fight back with. So that is my hope - that rather than see this as legalism, we see this as warfare. We armor up and make choices that lead to life and peace. Not because we want easier circumstances, but because we have everything we need in God. Simple faith is trusting him, walking with him and believing he has everything we need in life regardless of your circumstances. We are taken care of because we have God and you don't need anything else when you have him.
Why should I care?
Why should you care if you are spiritually connected to God? Because anytime you have another idol, it is stealing your joy, peace, and quality of life. I've never seen someone who is free that love something more than they love God. Never free. They're always in bondage to it. If you love people's opinions more than you love God, you'll be in bondage to people's opinions. If you love money more than you love God, you'll be in bondage to materialism and comparison. I've never seen it! Maybe it's worked for one of you. The only thing I've ever found that I never get to the end of enjoying, celebrating, and finding comfort in is Jesus. There's not another thing. Everything else will feel good for a little while, but it desperately lets me down at some point. You should care because it's how you were built. Eternity was set in your heart and your very nature was built by a God who designed you for a relationship with him. Without it, you ache.
What does "it's all about Jesus" or "you only need Jesus" even mean?
I do think we get into some cliches around the church and they lose their meaning. When I meet and talk to people that are in overseas work, there is a clarity they have that we don't. It's very bright here - you might be in a part of the country that's not glaringly Christian, but it's still very bright in Texas. What happens here is a different problem - a religiosity and a watered down version of "Jesus is enough." When I went to the northeast, I was absolutely blown away by the faith of the remnant that is up there. They are on fire. We get in the car and we're laughing and cracking jokes, but they want to pray the whole time we're together, because they're with other believers! They want to bring hope and encouragement to their people. They are tired and weary but they are not losing faith or hope - they are doing their jobs and worshipping God and knowing God and helping other people know him. Life isn't complicated for them. When it's difficult to follow Jesus, you realize what you care about the most. It's the old saying, "when a gun is held to your head, what are you willing to die for?" It comes down to allegiance. What are we allegiant to? It's not that we don't have things going on. I have multiple kids and hobbies and sports, but every one of those things is used for the glory of God and good of people. Right now I'm watching a bunch of girls meet in my living room (which I don't think I invited over, they just walked in because that's what they do) and they work and talk and meet about the things of God. I love that! Even the things I own - my food and my house and my furniture - it's being used for the glory of God. I'm not someone who believes you have to be a monk and own nothing to love Jesus. I believe that with everything God gives you, love him with those things! But the reality is we all have things we're tempted to love more than Jesus. We've got to know those things, confess those things, and fight the idolatry that comes with those things.
What's one thing I could say to myself this week when I'm spinning out and need to remember God?
Here's one thing I say to myself and it's 2 Corinthians 12:9, "my grace is sufficient for you, because my strength is made complete in your weakness." We are going to spin! It's crazy right now! The best thing we can do is keep going back to God and remember that his grace is sufficient for us. His strength is made complete in our weakness. We don't have to be the strong one! We can depend on our God who is big enough to hold the whole wide world and our problems in his hands. So tell him. Tell him that you're spinning. Take it to him and leave it with him. I promise you he has a plan for it. It may not be a plan we like, but it will be one that makes sense to us in eternity.