I have hidden your word in my heart. Psalm 119:11

I recently read an interesting article on a website called “Table Talk”. * The author Reverend Geoffrey Thomas examines some of the qualities of the great preachers of the past and concludes that it is not only their sermons in church  which moved the congregations, but it is especially their public prayers before the people which moved hearts to Christ.  He identifies  Calvin’s “simplicity, God -centerdness, humility and yearning for God” and  Spurgeon’s being utterly  steeped in Scripture.   When Spurgeon prayed “the things that were given to him to utter in prayer were more often more profound and beautiful than the sayings that left his lips in preaching.” Neither preaching nor prayer has any power to heal or save or sanctify unless it is based on the Word. It does not have to be elaborate or lengthy or verbose. A single phrase from Jesus’ lips stilled the sea, multiplied bread for thousands and restored Peter. It still can.

Reverend Thomas quotes Paul in 1. Corinthians 14:19

I would rather speak five minds with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

As I read Paul’s words, I was  struck with the apostle’s same  qualities of humility, simplicity and deep longing to preach the Gospel. Five little words, more or less, straight from God our Father, offered through Jesus’ unconditional  love and breathed by the Spirit have the power to transform every life and circumstance. Consider these few beautiful examples.

Behold, the Lamb of God. John 1:29

Your sins are forgiven you.Luke 7:48

Come, all who are thirsty. Isaiah 55.1

And the Word was God. John 1:1

God so loved the world John 3:16

Surely, I am coming quickly Rev 22:20

How much transformative power is held in so few words! Each one is a declaration  about God and about ourselves which  can bring us to our knees in tearful repentance, in loving adoration and  in humble thanksgiving.  Sometimes we can forget that every Word in Scripture is God breathed by the Holy Spirit, translations notwithstanding. The Bible in German or Greek or Russian would have different sentence structures and  phrasing, but the beautiful truth  of what Paul is saying does not change. Speaking even a little of Jesus,  by Jesus, about Jesus is the most powerful force on the planet. Five little words, more or less, are pearls without price. A library filled with scholarly dissertations on Scripture will never save a soul. Five little words of Scripture can. It’s really so simple.

Someone asked the question “How big is your Bible?” John Bunyan, author of  the Christian classic “The Pilgim’s Progress” often found an  “entire world in a single line of the Bible.” How can that be so? Do we not need the entire Bible of 66 books  from Genesis to Revelation as Christians?  As disciples, apologist, preachers and evangelists? Well, yes we do. But that begs the question. If like Bunyan we can find  the healing, salvation and peace of Jesus in a single Scriptural phrase, how big then does your Bible become? How many five word treasures lie within the pages of your Bible?

Yes, that is really, really BIG.

* https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/a-fresh-look-at-basics/