KEEP IT SIMPLE

 

KEEP IT SIMPLE

I Cor. 2:1-5 Dear brothers and sisters, when I first came to you I didn't use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you about God's message. For I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. I came to you in weakness---timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. I did not use wise and persuasive speeches, but the Holy Spirit was powerful among you. I did this so that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom. NLT

These verses have long shaped my ministry and life. It never has been about me, the church, or my accomplishments in life. It is all about Jesus. He is the heart of life. If we don't talk about Jesus and His mysterious and glorious work of salvation, we have nothing to say. People don't need to hear my opinions about anything, they need to hear about Jesus. If we are going to wow others about anything, let it be with Jesus.

Impressive words and degrees don't mean a thing. We must give people a simple message, Jesus saves! Jesus saves! We have a tendency to let our accomplishments in life get in the way of our message. We like the attention and respect we get when we accomplish good things. We don't often put aside ourselves in order to preach the Gospel without pretense. I wonder how many have been denied the Gospel because of our ego trips. I shudder to think how many we have been a stumbling block to because we have lost our focus on Jesus.

The only message we have to offer a hurt and dying world is Jesus. We must abide by the kiss principle at all times: Keep It Simple Stupid. If we do, Jesus will be lifted up and not us. The world needs to be impressed by Jesus, not us. Stay out of the way of the Holy Spirit’s work in a person’s soul. Proclaim Jesus and His redemptive work at Calvary and let God do the rest.