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This message opener was created to promote Ed Young’s series “Simplexity.”

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Format: MOV

Simplexity

“Yes”

By Ed Young

November 8, 2015

Everyone wants life to be simple. Yet, the vast amount of options in life make things more complex than ever before. The question is, “How do we navigate the options and experience a simple life?” The answer often comes down to a single, three letter words: yes.

In this message, Ed Young takes an in-depth look at “yes” from a biblical viewpoint. And as we learn about God’s view of this word, we discover the power and potential “yes” really has. Because when we are willing to say yes to the right things, everything else in life falls into place

Transcripts

I’m sure you’ve seen it at your local grocery store, someone trying to choose a box of cereal.  So many choices.  Wheaties or Fruit Loops?  Cocoa Crispies or Alpen?  That’s my favorite cereal, Alpen.  Does anyone here remember Alpen?  They still make it.  I’m the only one? Try it.  It’ll change your life.  We love to have choices don’t we?  As human beings we love decisions.  I know I do.  Hundreds and hundreds of channels to choose from.  It seems like there are millions of web sites, all the apps.  Maybe you’re thinking about, OK, I’m going to buy a car.  Whether it’s pre-owned or new, so many choices, so many choices.  We love choice.  Human beings, we’re people of options.  But I think that it’s easy to choke on choice.  I think it’s easy to drown in the dilemma of making decisions.

So on one hand we like things with options, yet on the other hand it’s really sexy these days to say, well, I want to simplify my life.  I want to dial it down.  And a lot of people say, I’m just going to retire, check out, move to the mountains or the shore and that’s going to be it.  I’m going to make everything basic.  I’m just going to check out of life.  So we have the simplistic and the complex.

The fulcrum, the tipping point in the middle is how can I have both?  That’s where the word and the theory of simplexity comes into play.  Google simplexity.  On one hand life is complex.  I think we would all say yes.  I mean, even choosing cereal at a grocery store, that’s a complex decision.  So many options.  Yet also, life is simple.  It’s basic.  As you think about it and as you boil it down I want us to come up with a working definition of simplexity because we all need it.  I need it.  You need it.  Simplexity.  If you’re a student, you need it.

What is simplexity?  It’s the ability to take and make the complex, simple.  To make the complex, simple. For example, what do you do for a living?  You might be in real estate.  What do you do for a living?  You could be a nurse, a doctor, a teacher, a coach.  What do you do for a living?  A homemaker.  What do you do for a living?  A pastor.  You must explain and you must be able to articulate what you do in ways that everyone can understand.  So you take complex truths, things that are difficult sometimes to break down, and serve them up in ways that everyone can connect with them.

How do we make the complex simple?  One word.  That’s all I’m going to talk about today.  How do we make the complex simple? That’s right, you can answer it for yourself.  How do you make the complex simple?  Whether it be the things of God, whether it’s your career, whether it’s thinking about your education, whether it’s your emotional makeup, whether it’s how you feel.  It might be a certain thing you’re dealing with.  How do you make – how do I make – the complex simple?  One word: yes.  Yes.  Let me say it again.  Yes.  You’re like… and?  No, no.  Yes!  Say it with me.

It’s just a three-letter word.  We say it all the time.  Yes.  We’ve said it already today.  Yes.  We said it yesterday and last week and last month, yes.  Because we’re the accumulation of the yeses in our lives.  Yes, yes, yes.  I like that.  Yes!  Some of the announcers when someone scores or something else happens that is really amazing… yes!  We say yes!

Simplexity

“No”

By Ed Young

November 15, 2015

The word “no” has such finality to it. Saying “no” is often difficult for us because it seems so limiting, so negative. We fear saying the word because we don’t want to disappoint or discourage. But what if “no” could actually lead us to God’s plan for our lives?

In message, Ed Young takes another look at Matthew 5:37 and how it can simplify our lives. And as he shows us the real purpose and power of saying no, we discover how it doesn’t limit our options; it instead allows us to experience a bigger and better “yes”!

Transcripts

Do you have a hard time saying no?  Think about it.  So often we choke on saying no.  We’re like… neeee.  We’re like…. Nnnnuuuu.  We’re like ya-ya-yaeeeeee!  We have a hard time saying that two-letter word, no.  If I say no I might make my child angry.  He might throw a tantrum.  If I say no my little clique, my little squad, they might not understand.  If I say no I might get criticized.  I have a hard time saying no.  No.

I want to free you up a little bit.  On the count of 3, let’s everyone say no.  Let’s just say it like we mean it.  1-2-3-no.  It feels good, doesn’t it?  No!

We’ve been breaking down Matthew 5, verse 37.  We’ve been going deep in this text because Jesus one day was talking to a bunch of heavy hitters.  These heavy hitters were swearing by all of these unusual things.  They were swearing by their chariots, swearing by horses, swearing by body parts.  Jesus said, “Hey, let your yes be yes and your no, no.”  Simply, Jesus said, let your yes be yes and your no, no.  We’re in a series called Simplexity.  We know that life is complex, right?  Everyone knows that.  Man has the ability to take the simple and make it complex whereas God has this supernatural ability to take the complex and make it simple.  Those of us who put our yes on God’s yes and our no on God’s no, we understand life, even though it’s complex, in a simple (not shallow), in a simple way.  It’s simply glorious and gloriously simple.  Yes.  No.  Maybe so.

Last time we talked about yes.  We said that yes is the new maybe.  We say yes when we really mean, I’m not sure.  We say yes when we think if someone or something better-looking comes along.  Yes, no, maybe so.  Today, though, I do want to talk about no.  Because I would argue that we need to say no a lot more than we say yes.  And I would argue that we need to say no because of a bigger yes.

We have a ministry in our church that’s really cool called C3 Global.  Dr. Claude Thomas is president of this and Claude travels domestically and internationally to help resource, to help pastors and leaders all over the place.  And when we help leaders we help tens of thousands of people.  So whenever we resource the church, Fellowship Church, which I’m about, we’re going along with Dr. Claude Thomas as he does white board sessions, as he does teaching, as he does helping for all of these different people.  Now and then I go to some of these things.  We’re having one in a couple of days and normally people ask me this question.

They go, “Ed, you and Lisa helped start Fellowship Church back in the day” and I go,