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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 18: It's Your Turn Ethiopia
What if your fiercest adversary today could become your closest ally tomorrow? Tune into the Bible Breakdown podcast as we explore this transformative idea through the lens of Isaiah, Chapter 18. God shifts His focus to Ethiopia, warning of their impending downfall, yet offers a message of hope and transformation. Ethiopia, once an adversary, is prophesied to become an ally, sending gifts to Jerusalem. This powerful narrative of reconciliation and peace highlights the potential for change when nations—and individuals—align with divine purpose. Discover how foes can evolve into friends, echoing the theme of unity amidst the chaos surrounding Israel.
In another heartfelt segment, I share a personal story that underscores the incredible power of prayer in reshaping relationships. By praying for someone I initially viewed as an opponent, I found friendship where I least expected it. Encouraging listeners to consider praying for those they struggle with, we explore the potential for growth and healing through faith. Dive into the idea that divine influence can oversee and transform our relationships, leading to unexpected bonds and understanding. As we conclude with a prayer, trust in God as our strength and salvation is emphasized, leaving listeners eager to continue the journey through Isaiah in the upcoming chapter.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Isaiah, chapter 18. Today's title is it's your Turn, ethiopia. It is your turn, ethiopia. And if you've been with us the past few days, god is looking at the nation of Israel. He is warning them, he's encouraging them, he's saying I've got a big idea for you. And then imagine, like you've got Israel and you've got all these enemies surrounding Israel, and all of these enemies are trying to oppress Israel, trying to destroy Israel, trying to control them. And one by one, god is saying if you return to me, I got a big idea for you, israel, and I'm going to take care of each one of these issues in your life. And he starts calling out these different nations. Well, today is Ethiopia's turn and he's going to talk about all the bad things, but also he's going to end with this amazing note of hope. We're going to get into all that in just a second. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're sharing the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're sharing the YouTube channel and the podcast with everybody you know, so we can all just build this community of reading God's Word together. And make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing team over there doing a wonderful job and, man, the more we dig, the more we find, and it's just awesome being able to do life and do ministry together.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, if you have your Bibles, I want to open up with me to Isaiah, chapter 18. Remember, the nation of Israel is in just the middle of chaos. There's so much going on in that land and and these nations are rising up and they're taking over one another, and and Israel is. We have this idea of the nation of Israel coming out of Egyptian slavery and the whole nation is pursuing God together, and we have this idea that that's how Israel always was. Well, unfortunately, the reality is they're not Much like. If you have a nation that identifies themselves as a Christian nation, it doesn't mean everybody in that nation is Christian, right, there may be various different religions. That's there, even though the overall idea is a Christian nation, right? Well, it's the same thing with Israel. The overall idea is that they worshiped Yahweh, but within that you had all these different groups of people that worshiped all these other gods. And so what God is doing, as he's inspired Isaiah to do, is he's calling all these people to lay down your idols, lay down all your things and come back to me. I got this big idea for you. I want you to have peace on every side. And so what he does is he's calling them that in the middle, but then all around him, all around them, god is calling out these other nations and he's saying I got you and I'm going to get you, and I'm going to get you. He's going around the list. Well, now it's a big bully, ethiopia's turn. And so we're going to read this together and then we're going to see at the end what maybe God's word would say to us today as well. You ready Isaiah.
Speaker 1:Chapter 18, verse one, says this listen, ethiopia. Now pause real quick. If you're reading a different translation or reading out of the New Living Translation, a different one may say Cush, cush, ethiopia. You know that's the same thing. Cush was the name back during this time. Modern day Ethiopia, sudan, is what it's called now. So, depending on the translation, they're both the same place Cush or Ethiopia, right? So here we go, verse one again listen, ethiopia or Cush.
Speaker 1:Land of fluttering sails that lies at the headwaters of the Nile, that sends ambassadors and swift boats down the river. Go, swift messengers. Take the message to a tall, smooth skinned people who are feared far and wide for their conquest and destruction and whose land is divided by rivers. All you, people of the world, everyone who lives on the earth, when I raise my battle flag on the mountain, look when I blow the Ram's horn. Listen, for the Lord has told me this. I will watch quietly for my dwelling place, as quietly as the heart rises on a summer day, as the heat rises on a summer day or as the morning dew forms during the harvest, even before you begin your attack. While your plans are ripening like grapes, the Lord will cut off your new growth with pruning shears and he will snip off and discard your spreading branches. Your mighty army will be left dead in the fields and your mountain vultures and wild animals. Vultures will tear at the corpses all summer. Wild animals will gnaw at the bones all winter. At that time, the Lord of heaven's armies will receive gifts from the land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people who are feared far and wide for their conquest and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of heaven's armies dwell.
Speaker 1:This chapter reminds me of a proverb that says when your life is right with God, even your enemies will be at peace with you. And what this is telling us is, even though Ethiopia is going to try to rise up and destroy Israel and destroy these neighboring nations, they're not going to be able to take over any land and actually they're going to become friends to Jerusalem. They're going to send gifts to God. So Isaiah is prophesying that, though this person is an enemy now, they won't be an enemy always. Well, wouldn't that be a wonderful promise If you have someone in your life right now that you think of as an enemy and say, okay, one day that person is actually going to be a close friend. Wow, what a great promise, even though that's not always the case, right? But I want to ask you a question, and I want to be. I'm curious in the comments on YouTube, and I'm curious if you want to send us a reply from 94,000. If you text RLCBIBLE to 94,000, you can do this. I'm curious about this.
Speaker 1:But it's easy to pray for judgment on our enemies, but what if you took some people that you would consider to be your enemies. And what if you started praying blessings over them? What if you started praying for them as though one day they would be your enemies? And what if you started praying blessings over them? What if you started praying for them as though one day they would be your friend? Imagine, right now with me, imagine you have a family member, maybe it's a, I don't know, just picture whomever. Maybe it's a extended family member, maybe it's not a family member, maybe it's a co-worker, but for one reason or another, you would not consider them to be a friend. You know what it's easy to do. It's easy to pray that God would open their eyes and God would convict them, and all those things may be good and necessary.
Speaker 1:But what would happen if, today, you prayed over them as though you were a friend? God, I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful, god, that we may not agree, but you're working in their life. I pray over their family. I pray over all the things you're doing in their life. I pray over their health. I pray over all of these things.
Speaker 1:And what would it look like if you prayed for them? Because I will tell you, in my life I've had situations where I didn't agree with somebody and I would not have considered them to be a friend. But as time passed and as I changed and got closer to God, as they changed, got closer to God, we started to change in our relationship. Until today, I wouldn't consider them an enemy. I would consider them something closer to a friend, and so you never know what time and growing closer to God will do so as a wonderful exercise.
Speaker 1:Today, pick out someone in your life and maybe, god willing, maybe you don't have any enemies, but maybe somebody you just don't like that much. I want you to pick them out and today I want you to pray for them as if they were your friend, and watch what God will do, because just maybe someone who is an enemy today may be a close friend tomorrow. Let's pray God. Thank you so much for today. Thank you that you're with us and you're for us in all things.
Speaker 1:God, I pray you will bring to our attention today someone we can pray for, someone that maybe in the future will be a friend, and as we do that, help us to remember that, god, you are Lord over our relationships and that just because something isn't working today doesn't mean it's not going to in the future, and it just reminds us to turn everything over to you and to always see you as in charge. In Jesus name, we pray Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Isaiah, chapter 12, verse two God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has given me the victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 19.
