The 53 Challenge!

Hello this is Willa Hardy with man talk radio. We all about breaking down the walls of race and denomination your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just a few minutes. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the truth. Podcast network.

This is good Truth Network holy week is upon us were so excited about this time a year.

Everyone talk about Easter resurrection Good Friday.

What's so good about Good Friday. Things like that.

I'm Stu Epperson your hosted experience through taking a little time out for Marjorie to Luke talk about the great 53 Isaiah 53 I'm challenging everyone to memorize Isaiah 53 I'm looking for 53 listeners will memorize Isaiah 53 just in time for good Friday. I want to read to your talk through this amazing chapter with you. It's called the gospel of the Old Testament.

It is just magnificent. I would read a couple things about Isaiah 53 to give you a little background, but here's a passage ready. Listen to God's word, who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed, for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant as a root out of a dry ground.

He hath no form nor comeliness, and we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him.

He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But 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. All we like sheep have gone astray.

We have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so we open is not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation, for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people he was stricken and he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief.

When child out make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days in the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul in the death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah chapter 53 311.

Pastor said a Dr. Mattoon said about this.

He said the timeline of history is been touched with extraordinary events and accomplishments.

That's because all of mankind a pause and say wow in the field of medicine. We marvel at the vaccines of Louis Pasteur in the field of travel were amazed at the flight of the Wright brothers in launching men on the moon in sports.

We talked about that four-minute mile ran by Roger Bannister.

We gaze with all his art architectural achievements of the Egyptians constructing the great pyramid of Giza.

So many wonders the world, but we journey through the chapters of Scripture.

We are also left with a feeling of wonderment and awe when we pour over key Cardinal Bible chapters with picturesque words like Isaiah chapter 53 by the great masterpieces that are on display in the famous art galleries of Paris, Athens, London, Washington DC. This chapter is a detailed prophetic portrait a masterpiece of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The brushstrokes of the Holy Spirit were given to Isaiah, enabling him to paint with words, the suffering of our Savior 700 years before they were actually fulfilled and became a reality. The portrayed in this chapter. Isaiah 53 has an abundance of hues of black, blue, purple, and shades of red that illustrates man's wickedness and hate the deep bruises and wounds from our tortured Savior and Crimson blood that flowed from his broken body. Yet even though he was being brutalized by bullies are Lord exemplified peace in a dark violent time because he is the Prince of peace. He responded with peace in the face of brutality, beatings, blood, butchery and bitterness.

The gospel of the Old Testament. Some theologians call Isaiah 53 the greatest picture of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. It's a detailed description of his beatings listen to this language. Listen to what he says he was of pressed he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so we opened not his mouth. So many of you are from. There were these words surely he's borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.

The word bruise there literally means crushed crushed wife for our iniquities.

The chastisement of our peace, shalom was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. That is one of the most quoted little phrases in all the Bible by his stripes we are healed. It's inspired artwork it's inspired pictures, bumper stickers, paintings, T-shirts, hats, by his stripes.

The stripes of Jesus.

It inspired a 1980s Christian rock band by the name of striper that was their theme verse one is all this mean well, it starts with one question, who hath believed our report.

This picture of a suffering servant that Isaiah the prophet presents in Isaiah 53 is the last thing Israel was looking for is the last thing they wanted. They want a conquering king.

They want someone to come in and subdue their enemies all these captivity's the Assyrian captivity. The Babylonian captivity.

All the oppression in Egypt they wanted someone to come in and dominate and set up his throne forever. When they saw all the processes of Psalm two of God with a ruling you with with a rod of iron. He thought that's what the messiahs can do, but the Messiah had to come and pay for their sin. Before he could rain, triumphant, and we hear about this in St. John chapter 1 what is it say it says he was in the world and the world was made by him. Verse nine but the world did not know him. He came unto his own and his own received him not. John 111 one. The status verses in the whole Bible, who hath believed our report who can believe this, the audacity, the thought of a God as a baby in a manger I meet all teams were once babies, but how many kings become a baby first before raining is keen. This was the king of kings who have to leave our report, the audacity of God becoming a man and the Word became flesh. He goes on John one and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. The good news of the gospel, found in Isaiah 53 will you memorize Isaiah 53 with me. We memorize this beautiful passage in the Old Testament is only 12 verses it's powerpack it's loaded with all kinds of prophecy 700 years before Christ even came specific articulate details about his life and his death and how he would be wounded and how we would be striped even before scourging's were done and how he would die and how he would be buried with a rich and a rich man's Raven on used grave. A borrowed tomb, the one of Joseph of Arimathea and how he would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief while in Howell. Look at verse six all we like sheep have gone astray is that something help of all the animals in the Bible, the dumbest animal by the way to ever live.

Some say is a sheep that has a title, brain, and the sheep will literally follow other sheep off a cliff and sheep are prone to wander. That's right where like in the sheep verse six of Isaiah 53 all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. That word all is very important for all have sinned.

Romans 323. Not a righteous, no not one. Romans 310 always through the jet verse 20 of chapter 3 of Rome to talk about how all of us are guilty of sin right in the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. And so it took Christ to be like a sheep or lamb led to the slaughter verse seven. Again, Isaiah 53 the gospel. The Old Testament, it took the Lamb of God to die for sheep like us. He was both the Lamb who would be the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, but he was also the great shepherd. What is he say in John chapter 10 the thief comes to steal the children to destroy but Jesus that I have, you might have life, and might have it more abundantly. You have that abundant life have you receive the gift of salvation in Christ is offering you. Have you because whosoever believes in him will not perish but have ever lasting life. John 316 back in John 10 back to this great shepherd. Jesus said I am the good shepherd.

He said my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me, and they are mine and no one will snatch them out of my hand so I challenge you this Easter season.

This resurrection season by way idols a happy Easter. I say happy resurrection because it creates a lot better conversation, but everyone's gonna be talking about it the whole world to be talking about Easter people are to be going to church that don't normally go to church and that's good that their goal and the question is whether the hearing, the question is what are you and I talking about how we presenting the gospel. How are we talking to people about a saver that came in died for sinners like all of us don't share the gospel like that person is really bad in your really good. Share the gospel because eyes to the person talking desperately needs this gospel of Jesus, and he saved a wretch like me.

And guess what, he is mighty to save. Because the very next part efforts as who, with leave our report in Isaiah chapter 53, it says to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed.

My prayer is that the arm of God that is mighty to save will reach out to you and save you. Will you call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. We call upon this one who bore your grief and your sorrows. This one who died for you so you could live with him. The Lord Jesus Christ. He came out of that grave. He's coming back again. He came as a humble law and Lamb is come back as a roaring lion to reign forever. Do you know him, not just you know about him do know Jesus pull the car over. It was someone that knows Jesus today before you had disability night and receive the gift of salvation, and call upon the name of the one who was wounded for you his name is Jesus.

Isaiah 53 on experience truth this week.

I'm challenging.

53 people to join me in, memorize Isaiah 53 by Good Friday" to someone you love or quote on your social media and tag Stu Epperson tag Truth Network direct message me in my Instagram on my twitter I'm putting I want to tweak all Isaiah 53. Every verse is going to be tweeted sometime, somehow, somewhere between now and I would tag my buddy Peter Rosenberger to in between Nelly Good Friday and Emily quoted to have got Artie got 10 or 15 people that are doing this with me the 53 challenge Isaiah 53 memorize it by Good Friday. God bless you and seek to know him and seek to make him known happy resurrection.

This is the Truth Network