"Keep Things Simple"
C. R. O. S. S. C. R. E. E.
K.February 27, 2000
Cross Creek Community Church
Life Changing Relevant to Today Powerful
2 Co. 11:3 & Selected
2 Cor. 11:3 "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."
Number of pages of the U.S. Constitution, the operating manual for a nation of 258 million people: 21
Number of pages of the operating manual of a Toyota Camry, which seats only five: 228
| Simple - Unadulterated, pure, innocent, uncomplicated, easy. |
| We tend to complicate matters in our lives - "things" become interwoven in the fabric of life. |
| Nothing more important than to maintain the simplicity that is in Christ. |
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"The main thing about being a Christian is to see that the main thing remains the main thing."
| The "main thing" is that at the heart and center of your life is the "simplicity that is in Christ," a simple thing. |
| When religion becomes complicated it is always a sign that it is drifting away from the realities of faith. |
| The world around us is getting increasingly complex, and it is because it is drifting farther and farther from God. |
| World of nature and you can see the simplicity of God's design everywhere. |
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| God basically is simple. When religion becomes complex it is a sign that it is departing from Christ. |
| We get involved in the things about Christ and fail to live in a relationship with Christ. |
| Spiritually we cool down and you find yourself getting complicated - Jesus. He is a living Lord -- he is not dead. He is not for Sundays only. - "To me to live is Christ" {Phil 1:21} |
Karl Barth, who has gained a reputation as a great theologian and who wrote a tremendously effective study of the book of Romans which revolutionized theology a few decades ago, was once asked, in what has now become a famous story:
"What is the greatest theological thought that has ever crossed your mind?" Some very complicated answer was expected, but his answer was this: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." That is the "simplicity that is in Christ."
It is easy to lose that. You can lose it in the midst of Christian activity. You can lose it in Bible study.
"It Floats"
An interesting story is told of how the familiar words "It floats" came to be used as the advertisement for a certain popular soap. Years ago, when the product was ready to be put on the market, the advertising Manager asked for a phrase or sentence that would describe the soap and differentiate it from any other.
One of the clerks in the manager’s office submitted the following: "The alkaline elements and vegetable fats in this product are blended in such a way as to secure the highest quality of saponification alone, with a specific gravity that keeps it on top of the water, relieving the bather of the trouble and annoyance of fishing around for it in the bottom during his ablutions."
The advertising manager blue-penciled this and substituted the two words, "It floats".
1. Keep things simple in SALVATION.
Matthew 18:2-3 "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
The simple gospel of Jesus Christ... His death, burial and resurrection. I Cor. 15:1-4
1 Cor. 15:1-4 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"
Some ways man has complicated this simple truth. We set up:
| Systems of good works - working your way to heaven. Earning your salvation. |
Living a good life, golden rule, not hurting anyone, giving money, being baptized, joining a church, etc.
 | Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…" |
| Eph 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast." |
| System of Rules & Regulations - legalism, similar to the Pharisee's in the days of Christ. |
| "Be on guard against the yeast (sin) of the Pharisees & Sadducees" Mt 16:11 |
| Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." |
"A Pharisee's trumpet shall be heard to the end of the town but simplicity walks through the town unseen."
| System of doing your "own thing" - just be sincere, this is what I think, hence this is correct! |
| Prov. 16: 25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." |
DON'T COMPLICATE THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL
Be converted, and become as a little child, you shall enter into the kingdom of heaven!
John 3:3
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"
2. Keep things simple in LIFESTYLE.
Luke 21:34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap."
| Quakers, Amish, Mennonites examples of rules, dress, transportation, conveniences, electricity, etc. |
TODAY - TV, soccer games, car race, jobs, and shopping, hunting, fishing, activities which drowns out the inner spiritual life.
| How can I protect my investments? Will the Stock market crash? How much interest will I make? |
| What if someone breaks into my home and takes my possession? Buy more & more "things". |
| How will I cope with aging? Who will take care of me? |
| How will I pay for college? Pay for groceries? Worry, scheme |
BUSY - BUSY- BUSY-BUSY-BUSY- BUSY - BUSY- BUSY-BUSY-BUSY- BUSY - BUSY- BUSY-BUSY
"Our life is frittered away by detail. . . . Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!" Henry David Thoreau
Anxieties & cares of life - hectic lifestyles - we need an uncomplicated faith in God
| We buy clothing to impress, drive cars that are marketed around creating an aura of success, and strive for job titles that project our position. - we attempt to cover our deep insecurities and fears with "things". All the while keeping God OUT. |
Simplicity MUST start in the inner person.
| The collision of how life "ought to be" collides with how life "really is". |
| Beware the attempt to force simplicity from the external to the internal. (legalism) |
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| It begins with a full surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. |
| Simplicity requires a continuing submission to Christ, on a daily basis! |
Richard Foster writes, "Of all the disciplines simplicity is the most visible and therefore the most open to corruption. The majority of Christians have never seriously wrestled with the problem of simplicity, conveniently ignoring Jesus' many words on the subject. The reason is simple: this discipline directly challenges our vested interests in an affluent lifestyle."
1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
Make it clear. Make it simple. Emphasize the essentials. Forget about impressing. Leave some things unsaid. Let the thing be simplified. Charles R. Swindoll (1934- )
3. Keep things simple in CHURCH.1 Cor. 14:33 & 40 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, …But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."
| Church is a living organism! The most powerful force on earth! We are NOT an organization! |
1Co 12:12-14 "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many."
| In an organization, maintenance becomes the focus BUT in an organism, ministry is the focus. |
| GUARD against - complicating church. |
| Cross Creek has a simple structure so we can maximize ministry & minimum maintenance. |
Will Rogers said,
"The Gov't taxes the people to build roads and the Baptists wear them out going to meetings" | Committees discusses' BUT ministries acts - they just do it, why? It needs to be done! |
Matthew 5:37
"Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
Cross Creek's 4 purposes - Why we exist.
There was no gymnasium on our seminary campus, so we played basketball in a nearby public school. The janitor, an old black man with white hair, would wait patiently until the seminarians had finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible.
One day I went up to him and inquired, "What are you reading?" The man did not simply reply, "The Bible." Instead he answered, "The Book of Revelation." With a bit of surprise, I asked, "The Book of Revelation? Do you understand it?" "Oh yes," the man assured me. "I understand it." "You understand the Book of Revelation! What does it mean?" Very quietly that old janitor answered, "It means that Jesus is gonna win." Bernard Travaieille
This morning we see the simplicity in the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper
1 Cor. 11:23-28 "For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup."
WHAT IS THE LORD'S SUPPER? This proclaims the message of Calvary! An acted out sermon!
1. It is a SIMPLE ACT. (v23) | No big ceremony, robes, candles or incense, mysterious rituals. |
| "on the very night he was betrayed, he took bread…" |
2. It is a REMINDER. (v24)
| Looking back to the cross - what Christ has done for you. |
| Get our eyes off self & look to Christ. Broken body / Shedding of blood. |
| "…Eat it in remembrance of me." |
3. It is a SYMBOL. (v25)
| "This cup" - a symbol of the shed blood of Christ. |
| Not actual blood, Jesus said, "I am the door", "I am the bread of life", symbolic |
| "This cup is the new covenant in my blood…" |
4. It is a STATEMENT OF FAITH. (v26)
| TWO LOOKS - Backward to Calvary AND forward to Jesus' Second Coming. |
| No commanded time as to frequency: (as often / whenever) |
| "For whenever…you proclaim the Lords death until He comes back" |
1Co 11:28 "a man ought to examine himself"
1Jn 1:9 "If we confess our sin, He is faithful & just to forgive…"
Rom 12:1 "I urge you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…"
Mt 5:23-24 "First go & be reconciled to your brother.... then come & offer yourself"