The Arm of the Lord - continued

The Arm of the Lord …continued.

In our last message, I presented the Lord Jesus as the arm of the Lord, based or founded on the prophecy in Isaiah 53:1-6. In that same prediction, the Lord Jesus is compared to a “tender shoot” and like a “root of dry ground”. What’s more, it also mentions that there was nothing in His appearance that should make us desire Him, etc.

Insofar that the arm of the Lord represents authority and power, we need to try and understand in what sense weakness and power work together. Thanks to the Lord, we can find the answer in the Scriptures themselves. The answer is found in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus.

Before long we will begin preparations to celebrate the Birth of Christ. In Aruba and the Antilles, the custom is to celebrate this event with colored lights, trimming the Christmas trees, preparing elaborate meals and buying new clothes, and the giving of gifts and more!

However, the day that our Lord was born of the Virgin Mary, He was born in a barn or sheep coral together with other animals. His mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn for them. As we well know, a manger is a kind of crib from which animals eat and chew their food. What does this event, related to the birth of Christ, teach us?

To understand this we must take into account that, the One Who was born in such a humble way, was the Christ, the Lord, and the Son of God, our Saviour. (Luke 2:10,11) The Scriptures teach us that the One, Who was born in that humble way, was the One, through Whom, God the Father created the universe. The Apostle John writes the following words about Jesus: Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made…etc., (Read John 1:1-10). That testimony is great and sufficient reason to convince us of the greatness of the Lord Jesus, together with the Father. Other testimonies that we can find are in Col.1: 15-17, and it reads as follows: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” This same testimony is mentioned in the book of Hebrews in chapter one and verses one to three. And it reads as follows: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, and through Whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.”

It is the same Person here through Whom all things in the universe were made, Who came into this world in such a very lowly manner and in a human body. And in that body, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross.

Considering the majestic grandeur of the Son of God, even before our world and humanity existed, we can ask ourselves, Why did He have to come into the world and suffer so much, and to die in a most shameful and humiliating manner at the hands of man, Whom He created? The answer is found in the Scripture itself, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. The answer is the love of God for humanity. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. “ (John 3:16)

It is quite impossible for me to think I could explain a love and sacrifice of this magnitude. That is why the following Scripture exhorts us: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away, For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.” (Hebrews 2”1-4)

Throughout His entire life in the flesh while in this world, the Lord Jesus struggled against temptation to sin. His struggle was against the very same temptations by which you and I fall. He was tempted by Satan and fallen man, who were under the control of the Evil One, and also of the world system. Different from us, our Lord Jesus did not have a sinful nature. However, He carried the burden of suffering when He was tempted. (Hebrews 2:18). “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

As I have already declared, it is impossible to explain such profoundness and depth. The great victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, on our behalf, over the powers of darkness almost seemed as a defeat. But, because He did not sin, and there was no deceit found in His mouth, God, the Father raised Him from the dead and exalted Him and gave Him a Name above all other names!

Trust in the Lord Jesus today, and be free from the judgement of God, which is coming.

Written by Bicento Henriquez.

Do not forget to visit Libreria Victoria during these days! There is no better gift to friends and family than a Bible, or an enclosure of a Christmas Tract, a book, or other reading material. We live in troublesome times – we need to share the Word of God with our family and friends. Visit Libreria Victoria today at Elleboogstraat 25, Oranjestad, Aruba.

The Arm of the Lord

Oh, Oh, at long last WINTER has arrived! Brrr....

In the book of Isaiah chapter 53:1-6, we read the following prophecy about our Lord Jesus Christ, and also how it relates to every human being.

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep, have gone astray, each one of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Dear friends, this portion of prophetic Scripture clearly refers to our Lord Jesus Christ and His incarnation. We would like to suggest that each one of you reading this message would take time to read the entire chapter of Isaiah 53, because each and every one of us is included in this prophecy.

To begin with, our Lord Jesus is referred to as the Arm Of The Lord. The Lord mentioned here is God, the Father Himself. Therefore, whatever happened to the Son of God in this prophecy, was in accordance with the will of the Heavenly Father. That, however, does not mean that Jesus was not in agreement, and that the Father obligated Him to be humiliated and treated in such a scandalous manner at the hands of men.

By no means, because there are other Scriptures that clearly tell us that the Lord Jesus willingly, and motivated by love, took upon Himself the shame and the punishment which each and every one of us deserved. In Hebrews 10: 5-7 we read the following words: “ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, O God.’”
So, Jesus is called “the Arm of the LORD” in Isaiah 53:1. Throughout Scripture the arm of the LORD represents the strength, power, and authority of Almighty God. The Lord Jesus received authority from the Father to do the work that He came to do in the world. To be sure of this we ask each one of you who are reading this message to read John chapters 5 & 6 completely, as well as the 17th chapter of John.

In Luke 4:17-19, we can see Jesus reading from the Book of Isaiah the following words:
“The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”’
Then Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. While the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Here the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of the Lord” and that is the Lord , who anointed Jesus with the Spirit to preach the Good News, etc. In the Book of Acts, chapter 10, the Apostle Peter, in a vision, guided by the Holy Spirit, was sent to take the Gospel to a Roman Official called Cornelius. Beginning with verses 38 – 43 we read these words:

“ You know …..how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him, from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. All the prophets testified about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Considering all the Scriptures we have mentioned, and there are many more, we can understand why JESUS is called the “ARM of the LORD” in Isaiah 53:1-6. It is through Him, that God, the Father provided forgiveness and eternal life for every one of us who repents and believes and receives Him as our personal Savior.
Written and prepared by Bicento and Betty Henriquez