Brown's Daily Word

Good morning, Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful Wednesday Evening Gathering for our mid-week Service. The food was delicious. The fellowship was sweet and the study of the Word of God was inspiring. There are over three Hundred prophecies regarding Jesus Christ our Lord in the Old Testament. The book of Isaiah chapter 53 depicts graphically,Christ's suffering, His death, His burial and even His resurrection. Pascal, one of the greatest and most influential scientific minds of all time, wrote these meaningful words, "The greatest of the proofs of Jesus Christ are the prophecies. They are also what God has most provided for, for the event which has fulfilled them is a miracle of God." The observation of Pascal is definitively true. The fact of the Messiah’s extreme physical and spiritual suffering had been plainly prophesied. Yet, the Suffering Servant humbly endured them as God’s will for the sake of those who will be justified, or have their sins paid for, by Him. The Servant voluntarily assumed the role given Him by God and bore man’s injustice and iniquity victoriously in noble silence. The Servant did not rebel against evil man’s oppression or God's devastating assignment with His words or with His heart. The Servant, however, was not a helpless victim of circumstance, but One who in His submissiveness and innocence fulfilled the greater purposes of God. Thus, in the end, He will prosper and be victorious for His vicarious suffering was God’s plan to accomplish His purpose . The destiny of servant-hood to God is triumph even though its short-run experience may look like defeat. God’s ways are not man’s way. Our God is the God of eternity, and He is enacting an eternal plan according to His wisdom and power. There is no uncertainty as to who is described in these verses from Isaiah 53, for it was made crystal clear to us in the book of Acts. When Philip, by divine appointment, encountered the Ethiopian Eunuch on the road to Jerusalem in Acts 8, the Eunuch was reading these very verses. The Eunuch pointedly asked Philip about whom the prophet was speaking. Philip, from these very Scriptures, then preached Jesus to him (Acts 8:35). (It is clear that when the Ethiopian read this passage hundreds of years after they were written and learned to understand it, his life was changed, because he came to realize the Servant suffered for him. Acts 8:35-39) We need to reflect on the facts and let that the suffering of Jesus have a profound effect upon our lives. He died for us so that, because of Jesus’ death, we need never fear death. When the Ethiopian learned the meaning of this passage He immediately obeyed Christ by pronouncing Him as Lord and being baptized. Is there a need for this kind of obedience in our lives? In Christ, Brown http://youtu.be/BcpLZgCwcEE Saturday evening worship service. Location: First United Methodist Church 53 McKinley Avenue Endicott Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott Saturday, April 9, 2011 6 PM Coffee Fellowship 6:30 PM Worship Service Worship Music: Betty Phinney and the worship team Speaker: Jeff Vansycle