Simple Complex Simplicity

 Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 

Pastor Kyle preached a message on simple answers to complex questions of God and faith. There certainly is a place for deep Theological knowledge in knowing God and making Him known. God meets us wherever we are at, but He doesn’t keep us where we are at and expects us all to grow as children of the kingdom of Heaven in spiritual. 1 Peter 2:1-3 Hebrews 5:12-14, & 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 speaks our growing and maturing as Christians. Gaining a deeper understanding of the Lord through discipline prayer, service, study and worship produces a deeper spiritual walk with the Spirit. But, be prepared to find “so called” experts to test us or trip us up along the way.

Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Lord teaches us that simple answers give the most profound response. Jesus’ responded to pointed, challenging questions with very simple answers. The Lord was implying that since Deuteronomy 6:5 said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”; it’s such a simple truth, so why didn’t you know that? You can almost hear the Pharisee lawyer say, “True, but I wanted you to say more, so I could trip you up and entangle you”, because that was the true intent, not to learn anything. The Lord taught him profound truth anyway. Instead of trying to make the easy things of God look hard, we need to make the hard things of God look easy. That’s what deep thinking is all about. Our job as Christians is to take something in the Bible that is not understood and make it easily understood. Almost every activity that we do does not take much skill, but requires a heart to do it. We are all involved in the ministry of Christ to others and affect spiritual growth. Serving in ministry is not just for others, but for our spiritual growth too.

1 John 4:10 “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Simple complex simplicity: Love God. Love Others. Go in peace.

Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.

In Christ, Brian