Suffering Servant, Faithful Son, Righteous One 4-2-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. This is the day we remember Your cross. Your body was lifted up for me so that my heart could be lifted up to You. … “See My Servant shall prosper; He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at Him—so marred was His appearance, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of mortals—so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of Him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate…. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him of no account. Surely He has borne our infirmities and carried out diseases; yet we accounted Him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all…. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him with pain. When You make His life and offering for sin, He shall see His offspring, and shall prolong His days; through Him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of His anguish He shall see light; He shall find satisfaction through His knowledge. The Righteous One, My Servant, shall make many righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will a lot Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors” (Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12). You are the Suffering Servant, the Faithful Son, the Righteous One. As Messiah, the Christ—both Son of God and Son of Man, having both the nature of God and the nature of man—You are the fulfillment of the words You spoke through the prophet Isaiah over seven hundred years before Your first coming to lay down Your life for us through the suffering of Your cross. You are the Manifestation of the Father, humbling Yourself in the form of the Son, so You could free us from our sins and abide within us by Your Holy Spirit. How can we imagine such a God who is so willing to suffer so much for our salvation? How can we grasp the choice You made the price Your paid for us to be able to live forever with You in a relationship of love? Only by the grace You give us to believe, only by the grace You give us to receive this indescribable gift of Your sacrifice of love. “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring (us) to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18). Because You died, now I can live Because You gave, now I can give Because You loved, now I can see Because You were, now I can be You are the One who gave it all You are the One who’s my All in All You are the One who loves me so You are the One I long to know So I will lift up Your name So I will sing You my praise So I will give You my heart So I will proclaim how great You are … You are a great God. And somehow in mystery of Your mercy and love, You were willing to greatly suffer for me. As I think about the suffering of Your cross this day, may I know the depth of Your love for me more than ever before. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, God bless you this Holy Week of preparing our hearts to experience the resurrection power of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Please come join us for two Messiah Ministries events coming up in Lexington, Kentucky in April, as well as The Fountain, our monthly citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship always at 7 pm on the 3rd Friday Night of every month: April 10, 2010 Day of Prayer and Fasting we're calling "Breaking the Silence--Restoring the Voice of Women in the Church" based upon Acts 2:17-18. Laura Beach and I will be leading in prayer along with various worship leaders throughout the day. April 28-May 1, 2010 "The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, Level 2." Please contact Marilyn, our Messiah Ministries Director of Ministries for more information: DirOfMinistries@aol.com 859-317-1591 The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry, Level 2 A focused time of teaching, mentoring, discipleship, personal ministry, equipping, worshipping and prayer led by Tommy Hays and a Messiah Ministries teaching team of experienced prayer ministers. We will continue to study and experience a Biblical perspective of the ministry of healing and wholeness of spirit, soul and body, and apply the foundational principles of the Kingdom of God for prayer ministry. The course combines dynamic classroom teaching in a small group setting with personal hands-on experience as students receive personal ministry and are guided in ministry for others. Level 2 gives deeper experience, opportunity, and practice in healing ministry. For more information or to Register for The Fountain School of Spiritual Ministry: Information/RegisterSchoolOfMinistryLevel2 Subscribe by email to Tommy Hays at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute on-line: www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502