PASTOR’S CORNER, Rex Petty, Faith Tabernacle Church, Liberal
A pastor once had a member of his church tell him a good sermon needs a good beginning and an excellent ending, with the start and the finish being as close together as possible. Even the Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus, which is the greatest sermon ever preached, can be read in Matthew Chapters 5 through 7 in less than 15 minutes!
It is amazing how God can speak with such brevity. Psalm 23 is only six verses and contains only 118 words. The Ten Commandments have 300 words and were later condensed by Jesus into only two commandments with only 21 words, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37,39). The Lord’s Prayer given in Luke 11:2-4 is also brief with only 58 words.
One day, a young boy stood up to recite what he thought was the 23rd Psalm in Sunday School. “The Lord is my shepherd and that’s all I want.” While he didn’t truly have the whole Psalm memorized his abbreviated version had profound meaning.
Further study reveals that the two shortest verses in the Bible are “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) when he cried after his good friend Lazarus died and in First Thessalonians 5:16 which says, “Rejoice always.” These two verses convey the life message of tears and sadness compared to one of joy and celebration.
It is obvious that God’s message is often short, concise and to the point! In the gospels, we discover that we are far worse than we thought, yet we are far more loved than we every dreamed! It is a wonderful blessing how Christ’s message to us doesn’t get lost in too much verbiage. That simple message is He loves you and has a plan for your life. As Jesus knocks at the door of your heart (Revelation 3:20), please pray and ask Him, “Lord save me,” (Matthew 14:20, which is the shortest prayer in the Bible), and “Please become the Lord of my life.”
