Five Precious Words ©

Five Precious Words - By John C. Hall (circa - early 1960’s) How great were the activities of our Lord when He was here on earth! As Mark tells us in his gospel, from the earliest morning, long before the day’s dawn, He arose to engage first of all in prayer, which was soon interrupted by the multitudes which sought Him. And so throughout the day, He worked incessantly and unsparingly. After the healing of the demon possessed maniac, as recorded in the fifth chapter of Mark, He was soon again surrounded by a large number of people. But suddenly there rushed into His presence Jairus, the ruler of a synagogue. He was deeply agitated. He fell in a worshiping attitude at the Master’s feet. He had at home a little daughter facing death. He knew that the One he had sought had the power to heal and to deliver, and to save her from death. And oh how readily the Lord responded to the faith of this trusting ruler. What a procession it must have been when the Lord Jesus and Jairus walked together, followed by the mass of people who swarmed around Him! Another miracle followed! Faith touched Him! A suffering woman, whom He later acknowledged as a daughter, hence a believing soul, touched the hem of His garment. Faith prompted her to say “if I may touch only His clothing, I shall be whole”. She did not trust in vain. For He said, “thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole of thy plaque”. Then the scene changed. A messenger appeared to speak to Jairus, it was sad news he thought. “Why trouble the Master any further, thy daughter is dead.” The Lord had heard the news and then turning to Jairus He spoke these five words “Be not afraid, only Believe”. Be not afraid, only believe. They are indeed precious words of comfort and of power which daily should be remembered as we follow Him. They find blessed application in different ways. He is still the friend of sinners. He still assures us, you and me, “He that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out”. Some day that door will be shut, when the day of Grace and Salvation is over, then His gracious invitation will be withdrawn. For now it is “come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. “Be not afraid, only believe, cast yourself into My arms of love, trust Me, and then go in peace, thy sins are forgiven thee”. Be not afraid, only believe, is His assurance, His words of comfort and peace to the saint. Christ loves the sinner, but the sinner who has accepted Him as his Savior and acknowledges Him as LORD, has become a Saint. A separated one, called into His fellowship, the Spirit of God joins him to the body of Christ, the Church, and he becomes a member of Christ. The true Saint of God who lives in true fellowship with the Son of God is the constant target of the enemy of God. Against whom the fiery darts of Satan are aimed – and never as much as now, because Satan knows that before long he will be buried under the feet of Christ and His body. But we can hear His voice – “be not afraid, only believe”. Believe in the power of the Cross, and His precious Blood. When the fiery darts of Satan begin to fly, if we will grasp the shield of faith to quench them, we can hear the voice of our great victor, “be not afraid, and only believe”. Resist the devil and he shall flee from you. Our age is trembling, for it is a dying age. Soon, man’s day will end, and another day, Christ’s Day, the Day of our Lord will come. This old world has been plunged into a fear complex, the very thing our Lord announced to us “men’s hearts failing them for fear”. But this heart failure should never overtake the true child of God. If an atomic bomb should be dropped upon us, what should that dismay His beloved people? Man has never devised such a quick method of stepping into God’s presence. When the world trembles, fears, becomes despondent, loses hope, then Jesus speaks the louder, “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe”. Why should we fear when the dawn of our glorious morning is so near? We must Believe and Trust as never before. The great work a Christian is called to do is to give the Gospel to others. The blessed Gospel we enjoy has made us debtors; we owe it to everybody else. What joy will it be when in eternal fellowship we shall meet those in Glory that led us to Him, and those whom we have helped to know the Savior. If we would think more of that word – ETERNITY – and what it means, what it means to the unsaved, those who are out on the road to eternal night and eternal woe. We would be more concerned for those souls. We could try to become soul winners, but it is something we cannot do ourselves. The Lord, He who comes to seek and save that which was lost, must do it through us. We must put ourselves into His hands for this great work. This must be realized first of all, that He must do it through us, that it is He who gives the power to do it. We cannot do it ourselves, but we must look to Him. We must put ourselves at His disposal, follow His leadings, and trust in His guidance. Sometimes believers, excellent Christians who live saintly lives are grieved because they could not point to many whom they had led to the Lord. Such feelings are not right. No one knows just how the Lord uses His people in the salvation of others. Many an unknown saint, whose name was never heard in public, was used in the salvation of others by his or her quiet and devoted life. Every Christian ought to have a prayer list of names of those who do not know HIM, and should put these names in intercession before the Throne of the grace – daily! Let us remember the time is short. The day is fast approaching. The night is coming when no man can work. The fields are white with harvest and the laborers are few. We can be sure if we labor in HIS name, He will give us an abundant harvest. The first time the word “come” is used in the Bible, was when God said to Noah “Come thou and all thy house into the ark” (Genesis 7:1) The last time the word “come” is used in the Bible is in Revelation 22:7& 12, the last page in the Bible. “behold I come quickly”. “And the spirit and the bride say Come. And let him that heareth say Come. And let him that is athirst Come. And whosoever will, let him take the Water of Life freely”. The bride is the Church. She longs for her Bridegroom. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Beloved One, is the heart’s desire of every believer; to see Him as His is, to be with Him in glory, is the highest ambition of all who know HIM!