Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Oh Friends, the prophecy of Isaiah, re Jesus and his ‘sufferation’ continues. But first, let me apologize for a mistake yesterday. Bruh Paul’s mention of Jesus as a high priest that could empathize with our misery is found in Hebrews 4:15, not 5:15, as I wrote. Please forgive the ole fella for he’s only human, plus he’s getting on in age, so these errors are likely to happen. (smile) And now, here’s a wise and true quote that Christopher Robin allegedly told Winnie the Pooh. ‘You are braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.’ And that’s no lie my people! Have you ever noticed that in spite of the initial worry, agony, fear and trepidation we feel when confronted with difficult situations, that once we settle down and sincerely apply our hearts and minds to the particular task, that we usually resolve it with much less difficulty than originally feared? That’s because on the surface, at first glance, all problems appear more difficult than they truly are. It just seems to be a human trait to jump straight to the worst case scenario before even considering the problem. Now that’s not a sensible way to operate since it unnecessarily increases our fear and anxiety, and consequently our stress level, which breaks down our ability to handle the problem. Yes Friends, thinking the worst causes us to lose energy before we’ve even started. So, from now on, when problems confront us, let’s promise to take a breather and remind ourselves that ‘I am braver than I believe, stronger than I seem, and smarter than I think, and I will not allow this problem, or any other, to deter me from my God given destiny.’ Then unleash a full frontal attack on the problem. You’ll be surprised at how capably you’ll handle it. But moving on to the Bit, yesterday we ended in the middle of verse 3, where Isaiah was bemoaning the way we’d treat Jesus when He finally came; ‘despised, rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.’ Now here’s the next part: ‘..and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.’ (Is.53:3) Oh Friends, can we get a better foretelling than that? I doubt it. Because of that severe personal torment that Jesus suffered, both emotional and physical; His agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane, His bruised and battered face, the unmerciful scourging, and finally the cruel and tortuous crucifixion, people surely seemed to hide their faces. They were either unnerved by the sight, couldn’t handle the abuse, or they didn’t want to get involved for fear of suffering similar agony. But the people of Jesus’ time surely despised Him and held Him in low esteem, did not regard Him highly at all, saw Him as a common rabble rouser, a fraud, a con artist. As John so rightly puts it: ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.’ (John 1:10-11) Sadly though Friends, two thousand years later, many people still hold our wonderful Lord and Saviour in rather low esteem, even contempt. They consider Him a nonentity, of no importance in this technological, scientific world, and rudely ridicule His Holy Name when He’s the most important person that ever walked this earth. Why is He so important? Because ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.’ (Is.53:4) Yes Friends, Jesus did bare our sicknesses and carry our pains, but for all that we simply reckoned that He was struck down by God, judged and punished. But the truth of the matter is, ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed.’ (Is.53:5) Oh my people, for that we should be shouting ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ For Jesus did nothing whatsoever to deserve such unjust, savage punishment. He did it all for us. ‘Praise His Holy Name!’ He was pierced through for our sins, crushed for our moral laxity, the chastisement, or discipline and correction meant to give us peace was laid on Him, and by the awful, cruel blows He received, our sinful souls were healed. Oh mih breddren, how then, can we in all good conscience disrespectfully write off or not highly consider a man who did so much for us eh? It’s both mind boggling and terribly ungrateful that we don’t hold Him in the highest state of appreciation, adoration and LOVE! Consider Bruh Paul’s words. ‘…if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.’ (Rom.4:24-25) That means everything He suffered was on our behalf. And it’s only fitting that we end with the words of Peter, who witnessed all Jesus’ suffering. ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again (in return); when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: By whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (overseer) of your souls.’ (1 Pet.2:21-25) My people, on the basis of all that Jesus did for us, and is still doing, let’s not belittle or take Him for granted. Instead, let’s put Him on the highest and brightest pedestal available, show Him proper respect and gratitude. Let’s not be numbered amongst the foolish and obtuse who saw Him suffer for them, yet refused to believe. Let’s make Jesus our be all and end all! That’s the only wise thing to do. Much LOVE!…oh what sacrifices our Saviour made for us…He paid the price for our sin…that only He could pay…
Oh Friends, the prophecy of Isaiah, re Jesus and his ‘sufferation’ continues. But first, let me apologize for a mistake yesterday. Bruh Paul’s mention of Jesus as a high priest that could empathize with our misery is found in Hebrews 4:15, not 5:15, as I wrote. Please forgive the ole fella for he’s only human, plus he’s getting on in age, so these errors are likely to happen. (smile) And now, here’s a wise and true quote that Christopher Robin allegedly told Winnie the Pooh. ‘You are braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.’ And that’s no lie my people! Have you ever noticed that in spite of the initial worry, agony, fear and trepidation we feel when confronted with difficult situations, that once we settle down and sincerely apply our hearts and minds to the particular task, that we usually resolve it with much less difficulty than originally feared? That’s because on the surface, at first glance, all problems appear more difficult than they truly are. It just seems to be a human trait to jump straight to the worst case scenario before even considering the problem. Now that’s not a sensible way to operate since it unnecessarily increases our fear and anxiety, and consequently our stress level, which breaks down our ability to handle the problem. Yes Friends, thinking the worst causes us to lose energy before we’ve even started. So, from now on, when problems confront us, let’s promise to take a breather and remind ourselves that ‘I am braver than I believe, stronger than I seem, and smarter than I think, and I will not allow this problem, or any other, to deter me from my God given destiny.’ Then unleash a full frontal attack on the problem. You’ll be surprised at how capably you’ll handle it. But moving on to the Bit, yesterday we ended in the middle of verse 3, where Isaiah was bemoaning the way we’d treat Jesus when He finally came; ‘despised, rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.’ Now here’s the next part: ‘..and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.’ (Is.53:3) Oh Friends, can we get a better foretelling than that? I doubt it. Because of that severe personal torment that Jesus suffered, both emotional and physical; His agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane, His bruised and battered face, the unmerciful scourging, and finally the cruel and tortuous crucifixion, people surely seemed to hide their faces. They were either unnerved by the sight, couldn’t handle the abuse, or they didn’t want to get involved for fear of suffering similar agony. But the people of Jesus’ time surely despised Him and held Him in low esteem, did not regard Him highly at all, saw Him as a common rabble rouser, a fraud, a con artist. As John so rightly puts it: ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.’ (John 1:10-11) Sadly though Friends, two thousand years later, many people still hold our wonderful Lord and Saviour in rather low esteem, even contempt. They consider Him a nonentity, of no importance in this technological, scientific world, and rudely ridicule His Holy Name when He’s the most important person that ever walked this earth. Why is He so important? Because ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.’ (Is.53:4) Yes Friends, Jesus did bare our sicknesses and carry our pains, but for all that we simply reckoned that He was struck down by God, judged and punished. But the truth of the matter is, ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed.’ (Is.53:5) Oh my people, for that we should be shouting ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ For Jesus did nothing whatsoever to deserve such unjust, savage punishment. He did it all for us. ‘Praise His Holy Name!’ He was pierced through for our sins, crushed for our moral laxity, the chastisement, or discipline and correction meant to give us peace was laid on Him, and by the awful, cruel blows He received, our sinful souls were healed. Oh mih breddren, how then, can we in all good conscience disrespectfully write off or not highly consider a man who did so much for us eh? It’s both mind boggling and terribly ungrateful that we don’t hold Him in the highest state of appreciation, adoration and LOVE! Consider Bruh Paul’s words. ‘…if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.’ (Rom.4:24-25) That means everything He suffered was on our behalf. And it’s only fitting that we end with the words of Peter, who witnessed all Jesus’ suffering. ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again (in return); when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: By whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (overseer) of your souls.’ (1 Pet.2:21-25) My people, on the basis of all that Jesus did for us, and is still doing, let’s not belittle or take Him for granted. Instead, let’s put Him on the highest and brightest pedestal available, show Him proper respect and gratitude. Let’s not be numbered amongst the foolish and obtuse who saw Him suffer for them, yet refused to believe. Let’s make Jesus our be all and end all! That’s the only wise thing to do. Much LOVE!…oh what sacrifices our Saviour made for us…He paid the price for our sin…that only He could pay…
SCRIP-BITS 