Simple Things by Aaron Stevenson

As you are about to notice, I do not have the artistic ability that Pastor Nan does.

And what little I did have was cut off at the bottom by the printer.

So, if you want something fancy and flashy, come back next week and Pastor Dan will draw something for you.

But for now, we're going to work our way through this worksheet that's meant to help organize my craziness upstairs.

Let me turn this a little bit.

So, as I was reading and I was praying about what I wanted to talk about, I found myself over-complicating a lot.

And long story short, I thought about and I prayed about so many different topics.

And it came back to, it's a lot simpler than I think it is.

And I think, and I'm going to get to this point by the end, but I think we all do that a little bit.

We over-complicate things a little bit more than we need to.

So, we're going to talk about some simple small numbers.

Probably the perfect day for that. We have small numbers here.

But I'm hoping that I can help somebody learn something at the very least.

And hopefully God will be speaking through me.

So, starting from the top, what I believe is the simplest, most straightforward is number one.

Which in my reading, my research, I found it's used upwards of 2,000 times in the Bible.

Which, you know, one means a lot of things.

It's used in conversation a lot, but that's a lot of times.

But there are a few very important instances of the number one symbolism to that in the Bible.

And to me, the first thing that pops out of me when I'm trying to overthink the number one is

that there is only one God, right?

We're Christians, Christians believe in a monotheistic religion, which basically means there's one deity, one God.

And anyone who cares much for history or pays attention in their history classes would know

there are a lot of people, mostly in the past, but there have been a lot of people that believe

there were a lot of gods, especially those that the Jews interacted with.

Even up to the point of in the Romans, when Jesus was alive,

believed in many, many gods.

And so the first verse that we're going to take a look at today and we're going to read is Deuteronomy 4-5.

I'm going to be reading out of the CSB if anyone is curious or wants to read the same translation.

It's kind of back and forth.

I do think some of the verses that we're going to look at today read a little bit

the irony of this is kind of still funny to me, but you read a little more clearly.

But I generally read CSBs, that's what I'm going with.

So Deuteronomy 4-5.

Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances.

This is not the right verse.

I'm sorry.

Deuteronomy 6-4, I've messed this up already.

Deuteronomy 6-4.

Listen Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

I'm going to read five as well.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And so that's the blank right under number one there is that reference.

Deuteronomy 6-4.

Can you correct on my own paper?

So that lays it out pretty clearly.

For anybody who had questions of how many gods there were involved in creating the world,

the Lord is one.

And we need to love that one God with all our heart.

And so those four blanks to the right of the reference, kind of to the right.

If you tilt your paper funny, is the Lord is one.

So I'm going to go into the blanks, but one in a lot of the reading I did, one signifies wholeness.

It has been declared that the Lord is one.

The Lord is, you know, our whole focus as Christians is to be like the Lord, be like Jesus.

But as we'll talk about later and most Christians know,

Jesus and the Father were one.

So the Lord is one.

Wholeness is portrayed in that word one.

And that came a little bit from, I'm no scholar on it, I don't know Hebrew,

but that came a little bit from the reading that I did about the Hebrew character for one,

is that it kind of signifies wholeness in the way that it's used.

And the blanks across the top,

one cannot be multiplied or divided by itself.

I left that part out of the blanks, but by itself.

If you multiply one by one, you still have one.

If you try and divide the one, you still have one.

So you're not going to, no matter what you do, you're not going to be able to find God split on an issue.

You're not going to be able to find a way to spin it that God is more than one.

Not realistically, not following the teachings that we find in the Bible anyways.

And that's kind of the simple one, no pun intended.

So there's not as much to that one, but we'll kind of come back to the number one in a minute here.

So with the number two, multiplication becomes possible.

So multiply two by two and you have four. Your numbers have grown.

So the first verse that we're going to read about the number two is Ecclesiastes 4,

9 through 11.

Get my pages to flip.

So Ecclesiastes 4, 9 through 11 says,

two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

For if either falls, his companion can lift him up, but pity the one who falls without

another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm,

but how can one person alone keep warm?

And then I want to jump right into the next verse before I talk about that at all.

Genesis 1, 24 through 31.

Which is a little bit longer. Arden, you want to read that for us?

Genesis 1, Genesis 1, 24 through 31.

Then God said, if the earth produced living creatures according to their kinds,

livestock, creatures that crawl in the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, and it was so.

So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their

kinds, and the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds, and God saw that it was

good. Then God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. It will rule the fish

of the sea, the birds of the sky, and livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on

the earth. So God created man in his own image, created him in the image of God, created the male

and the female. God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and

subdue it. It will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on

the earth. God also said, look, I have given you every seed bearing plant on the surface of the

entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, for all the

wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth,

everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food, and so

God saw all of it being made, and it was very good, eating it in the morning and in the morning.

Okay, so we have seven blanks over on the right, and I have given you an E in the fourth blank.

Anyone, any ideas what we might be putting in there based on what we just read? I can tell you that,

say, my paper says, beasts of the earth created in pairs. I'm, you know, shorthanding it a little

bit, leaving out some of the small words maybe, but God creates the beasts of the earth. He creates

them according to their kind, and He creates them male and female. So He creates one male, one female.

He says, go and multiply and fill the earth, more or less. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,

and subdue it, to be more exact. And then in the blank below, I have man also to, mostly is already

filled in, shed also, which He doesn't create Eve. It does say He created them man and female in this

verse. So yeah, right there. So at this point, He's already created a man and a woman, two men, humans,

however you'd like to say it.

Go forth, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, rule over the fish and the birds, and

you know, it's to go out and fulfill that duty. And it's a command, right? So, and I think as far as that,

people have generally done a pretty good job. We're all over the place. But the blanks over the left,

with some arrows pointing up, I just read this straight out of the dictionary. I had read 15

verses at this point, researching a little bit, and I was like, you know, what does multiplication

mean? And straight out of the dictionary, there's a couple of definitions, but the most straightforward

one was increase in number. And so I've got that in that blank there. And so God wants us to go,

creates us in a pair. There's definitely a meaning there. And then wants us to multiply,

increase in number. The way that we were designed, we need a pair to increase in number. I think that

that goes to apply also to ministry, which I'm about to read about in a second. But we aren't

designed to be alone, designed to be, if nothing else, in the church with those around us that can

support us, really designed to be in a pair, husband and wife, to multiply, to have children.

It's commanded right there, very clearly, go for the multiply. But if nothing else, we need to be

in the church, fellowshipping, because I'm sure that we've all seen the person who's alone,

nobody to back them up, nobody to talk to, and it puts them in a pretty rough spot.

Which leads me into the next verse, which is Matthew, or I'm sorry, let me go back to,

let me go back to Ecclesiastes real quick. Sorry.

Sorry. So now knowing you were created in a pair, designed to be in a pair, and then we jump forward

and we hear talking to the Jewish people, I can't remember off the top of my head

who wrote Ecclesiastes, but two are better than one, because they have great reward for their

efforts. If either falls, his companion can lift him up. If you're struggling by yourself,

if you just had somebody with you, they could help you, right? If they lie down together,

they can keep warm. If a man lies down in his bed every night, or a woman lies down in their bed

every night, year after year after year by themselves, it gets kind of cold, kind of lonely,

right? So we were designed to be in a pair. We'll jump to Matthew 18.20 now.

Matthew 18.20.

It says, for where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.

All right, and this is Jesus talking. So we've got some, the blanks across the bottom. There's

three blanks with a question mark, and then four blanks below. And I've got two or three.

The Lord is there. And so, this, as I was praying on this, you know, you may come to find different

meaning in it, or there is a more literal meaning, but as I was praying and meditating on this

verse, especially in context of the previous passages, I came to realize, which, I mean,

I already knew to an extent, but I came to know that if we do not go out into the world to minister

and to visit, to share God with support, even if they're not physically with us, if we have the

church behind us, or we have a team back in the church that we can come back to and we can bring

people to, or we have our pastor that we can refer people with complicated questions to,

hopefully we just know the answer. But if you don't have support of other believers,

God might not be there to back you up. That's kind of hard to swallow, but it's there, right?

Now, it doesn't say the Lord won't be with you if you don't have to, but it says if there's two or

three, the Lord will be there. If you want to know that God's going to be there with you,

bring your Christian friend, right? Bring your pastor with you.

Sorry, I lost my spot here.

I'm going to read Proverbs 27-17. I'm jumping around a lot, but there's a lot of scripture that

adds context to what I'm thinking about here and what God's been doing for me.

I'm going to read Proverbs 27-17. I'm going to read Proverbs 27-17. I'm going to read Proverbs

27-17. It adds context to what I'm thinking about here and what God's been telling me.

In Proverbs 27-17, it says, iron sharpens iron and one person sharpens another.

So not only will God be with us if we go as two or more believers out in the world, two or three

believers, but we will be made stronger. We will be made sharper. We'll be more prepared if we have

another with us. In the moral of the story, those parts are we got to go together.

We have the fellowship. We have to work together,

kind of bounce off of one another, our knowledge or our skills. If say,

my pipes burst under my house, I'm not going to know what to do. Maybe I could call a plumber,

but I know that there are people within the church, Tim, probably Tony, I have to call him

probably Tony. I don't know if I've known you do much plumbing, but I know that there are people

within the church that I could call. They could give me advice. They could help me.

If I weren't part of the church, the best thing, the closest thing I could do to get that fixed

is call a plumber. Maybe watch a bunch of YouTube videos and mess it up even worse.

We make each other stronger, not only by physically being with each other, but by being able to

work together, add to each other's knowledge, multiply our skills to use for God,

and to make an impact on the other people in the church and those who don't know God

that we want to show. We want to leave an impression that we're living for God.

I have just above where it says, what is it? Two blanks should be the last two blanks under two,

I believe. No, there should be one more. The M is for multiplication and the C is for the church.

So with multiplication, when two or more believers gather, the Lord is there.

Two or more believers gather and they are on fire for God and they go out and they are telling people,

you will multiply, you'll have three, four, five, however many believers coming together,

and you will have a church. The church is the people. They don't need a building.

This is a big sermon that stuck with me a really long time ago when I do not have all the scripture

and all of the, I guess, kind of receipts to reference back to, but the church is the people.

If we didn't have a building and if we met in the middle of the street every week or every day or

once a month, whatever it was, we would still be the church when we came together and met in that

street and worshiped God and learned about him together and fellowshiped. That's the church.

And with multiplication comes the church. With the church, hopefully, comes more multiplication.

And I have a reference that I'm missing. I spent more time preparing this,

and I know I'm kind of scatterbrained, it's all over the place, but I still, I'm not very good

at preparing, but I spent more time preparing this than I've probably gone out of my way to prepare

anything in the last decade. So I've never studied, I never, I've never done anything

like I have speech in school, I wing it, but so I really don't know how to prepare,

just to get that message across.

Matthew,

hold on, let me make sure this is actually it before I tell you. Yes, Matthew 28, 18 through 20,

which is also commonly known as Matthew 20, is the first time I've ever seen a church

with a church in the middle of the street. And I've never seen a church with a church in the middle

of the street. So Matthew 28, 18 through 20, which is also commonly known, Matthew 28, 18 through 20,

I think I misspoke there, which is also commonly known as the Great Commission.

Jesus came near and said to them, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.

And so to me that just wraps this all up nicely to say, it's our job to multiply the church,

it's our job to multiply more believers, spread the word, and to show people that what God's all

about. There are a lot of people, maybe they don't want to hear it, but there are a lot of people

that really need to hear it. Maybe they do want to hear it, maybe they've never heard it,

whatever their situation is that we need to tell. I think part of the reason why those verses are so

famous is because it's a clear command. It's very simple. What you need to do, you need to go

and tell people, say, make disciples of everyone, tell them about God, baptize them in the name of

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them everything I have taught you essentially.

It's pretty obvious to me, right?

And it's very powerful and it's a great calling for us as Christians and what we need to do.

I'm going to try and move along through three a little bit faster here. I do unfortunately have

to leave to go back to work pretty soon here. Like I said, it's been a really crazy day.

But so, the number three in my reading is also very commonly used.

And the most common trend I see with the number three, it just made clear nothing that, you know,

none of these trends that I'm seeing are the only things that these numbers mean in the Bible.

They're just the things that are being used in the Bible. And so, I'm going to try and move along

through the three things that these numbers mean in the Bible. There's a lot more, like they're used

for many things. I read quite a bit about like negative uses of two and three.

Yeah, I didn't really even touch on it at all when they're using a negative context like

Peter denying Jesus three times, for example.

But number three generally symbolizes completeness from what I'm reading to me.

And what God has told me. I'm not just making this stuff up.

But so, for the right, Jesus prays three times in Gethsemane.

I'm going to read Matthew 26, 36, which is where that comes from.

Sorry, that is not. Maybe it is.

Yes. So, Jesus came with the disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he told them,

Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter,

So couldn't you stay awake with me one hour?

He said, I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.

Going a little farther, he fell face down and prayed, My father, if it is possible,

let this cup pass for me, yet not as I will, but as you will.

Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping.

He asked Peter, So couldn't you stay awake with me one hour?

Stay awake and pray, so that you won't enter into temptation.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, My father, if this I cannot pass,

unless I drink it, your will be done.

And he came again and found them sleeping, because they could not keep their eyes open.

After leaving them, he went again and prayed a third time,

saying the same thing once more.

Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?

See, the time is near. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hand of sinners.

Jesus is about to be betrayed.

What from the appearance, actually, he says while he was still speaking.

That minute, he's about to be betrayed. He's praying and he knows it.

He gets up and tells the disciples it's about to happen.

But yet he's still praying.

If there is any other way, let it be that way.

Let it be taken away from me.

But your will be done, Lord.

So he prays three times in Gethsemane for what is to come to be taken away from him.

There are three Passover's in Jesus' ministry.

I'm not going to read all the verses, but John notes all of them, 2.13.

John 6.4 and John 11.55.

There are three Passover's from when Jesus goes out into the world with the disciples

to the time of his death, which roughly is three years that his ministry goes on.

And then the most, probably the most notable, which I have blanks here for the verse, 1 Corinthians 15.4.

Jesus rises again after three days.

So in each of those instances, Jesus is not done praying until he's prayed three times.

Jesus' ministry is complete after three years.

Jesus' resurrection comes to be in its fullness after three days.

I'll touch on that again in a second here.

In the top left, I have a triangle, which I've marked Trinity for you.

In 1 Corinthians 8.6, I'm going to use my phone to pull these up, be a little bit quicker.

In 1 Corinthians 8.6, yet for us, Jesus is not dead.

In 1 Corinthians 8.6, yet for us, there is one God, the Father, all things are from him, and we exist for him.

And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, all things are through him, and we exist through him.

So I've got that top blank as Father, and then 1 Corinthians 8.6, the top of the triangle there.

And then also they mention one Lord, Jesus Christ.

In the bottom left, we've got Son, and then Colossians 2.9, Jesus reiterates and he says,

for the entire fullness of God's, I'm sorry, not Jesus speaking,

but it's reiterated that Jesus is, for the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ.

So reiterating again, Jesus and God are one being, fullness of Christ,

the fullness of God the Father is in Christ, and they are both one Lord, our one Lord.

And then when we go to 2 Corinthians 3.17,

this is now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

And then so in the bottom right corner of the triangle, I've got Holy Spirit

in 2 Corinthians 3.17, right below it.

Not going to go super in depth about the Holy Spirit, of course, that's a pretty deep topic,

but the Holy Spirit is the Lord, right? I'm sorry, the Lord is the Spirit,

is laid out pretty clearly there.

And so we're going to go to the bottom right corner of the triangle,

Holy Spirit is laid out pretty clearly there. And so we have a Trinity, this complete figure head,

or God head, as I've heard it said, three in one, that our belief is completely revolves around.

And three parts of the Trinity, kind of what it means, Trinity,

Jesus prays three times, there are three years in Jesus' ministry, Jesus rises after three days.

And a little fun fact about that, as I was reading, I came to learn that it was like a,

after three days, Jewish people believed you were, that was when you're fully dead and your spirit

left the world and what base there is to that, I don't know. I feel that's probably a little

superstitious personally, but I don't know for a fact how that, how it all plays out. But the Jewish

people at that time believed that the three days you are fully dead, you're done. So Jesus, after

three days coming back, even adds, just makes, gives more punctuality to the point that Jesus is

conquering death. And so we have these numbers, simple one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,

eight, nine, ten. Simple one, two, three. One of the first things we learn academically speaking

as humans. And they all, all of those things, you know, they kind of mean different things

individually, they tie together to create our beliefs. There's one God, three parts,

but one God, or three forms I should say, but one God. And if you know our one God,

and you know that He is one, you love Him with all your heart, then you will go as

a pair, you'll go as two or more into the world and tell all those in the world that

are alone, that don't know God, that don't, they haven't seen what we've seen.

You'll tell them about Jesus. You'll tell them about His three years, His three

prayers, His three days, and they will hopefully, someone's going to, maybe not,

definitely not everybody, there will definitely be people that don't want to

hear it, but they will come and they will multiply and they will join the church,

and we will fulfill our command from Jesus to make more believers, and it will

all come full circle today that we go to heaven, and we get to be there with the

one true God in heaven for all of eternity. And now, that wraps it all up, but I want,

I'm hoping that someone, at least one person in this room learned something

from that. I sure learned a lot, but the concepts and the small things I

learned and the things I remember from studying this, I will apply to many other

things as I study in the future and kind of build on the basics, and I

think that sometimes that's what we need to do, is just go back to basics even if

I can even make the basics very complicated and scatterbrained, but I

think that these numbers come up so much it would be silly for us not to talk

about them, at least a little bit. So I'm going to pray and then we'll go to some

fellowship. I have to leave unfortunately, but I have some fellowship for a few

minutes and then go home. Lord, thank you for this day. I pray that you are with

each one of us as we go out into the world and that we can go. We make

believers, we make disciples of men everywhere we go. Thank you for giving

us your word, giving us something to study, to learn, so that we can know more,

so we can draw closer to you. In black and white, it's right there in front of

us and I'm so grateful for that Lord. I thank you for those of us who are able

to be here today. I pray for those traveling that you would help them be

safe, that they would learn something and have a fulfilling experience for you at

the National Convention, Lord. I just pray that you watch over us, bring us

providence in our daily endeavors. In Jesus name, amen.