The Bible Breakdown

Isaiah 44: How Can I Refocus My Life?

• Brandon Cannon • Episode 621

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Speaker 1:

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, isaiah, chapter 44, and today's title is in the form of a question and that is how can I refocus my life? How can I refocus my life? As we can see throughout Isaiah, he's constantly calling the people back to the Lord and then, once they do that he's going to talk about today, about how to not focus on the idols anymore but refocusing our life on God. We'll get into all that in just a second, but 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 leave us a five-star review on the podcast, make sure you are sharing the YouTube channel and make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion Discussion on Facebook, because, man, the more we dig, the more we find, and they're doing a great job over there, adding devotions every single day, and that group continues to grow all the time and I'm so thankful for it. If you have your Bibles, want to open up with me to Isaiah 44. Remember, the overall idea and theme of Isaiah is God is our salvation, and there's all these different aspects to God's salvation that we talk about throughout Isaiah, and one of those aspects is when we decide to turn away from just these areas where we find ourselves straying to the left and to the right, how do we refocus our life? And so what Isaiah is going to do is he's going to talk about how these people are having to turn from their different idols and turn toward God and focus their attention on him. He's going to talk about how these people are having to turn from their different idols and turn toward God and focus their attention on him. And when we get to the end of this, I'm going to see what God's word would say to us about how to refocus our life on him. So, if you're ready, isaiah, chapter 44, verse 1, says this All who worship idols will be disgraced, along with all these craftsmen, mere humans who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.

Speaker 1:

The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint. Then the woodcarver measures a block of wood and draws a. There we go. He selects the cypress and the oak and he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. There we go. Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it, he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then, yes, it's true, he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship. He makes an idol and bows down in front of it. He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. And then he says, ah, this fire feels good. And then he takes what's left and makes it into a god, a carved idol. He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. Rescue me, he says you are my god.

Speaker 1:

Such stupidity and ignorance. And pause, you've got to agree with him on this. I mean, if you take a piece of wood, you cut it in half, and half of it you make a fire and the other half you make a God to worship. I just want to just like, just stop that. You know, let's keep going. Verse 18.

Speaker 1:

Such stupidity and ignorance. Their eyes are closed and they cannot see. Their eyes are closed and they cannot see. Their minds are shut and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect why it's just a block of wood. I burned half of it for the heat and used it to bake bread and roast my meat. How can the rest be a god? Should I bow down to worship this piece of wood? The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can't help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask Is this idol that I'm holding onto in my hand a lie? Such a good question to ask, right Verse 21,.

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Pay attention, o Jacob, for you are my servant. O Israel, I, the Lord, made you. I will not forget you. I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. O return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. Sing O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy O depths of the earth. Break into song, o mountains and forests and every tree, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob. He is glorified in Israel. This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer and Creator. I, the Lord, who made all things. I alone stretch out the heavens, who was with me when I made the earth.

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I exposed the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune tellers. I caused the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools. But I carry out the predictions of my prophets, but by them. I say to Jerusalem people will live here again. And to the towns of Judah you will be rebuilt and I'll restore all your ruins. When I speak to the rivers and say dry up, they will be rebuilt and I'll restore all your ruins. When I speak to the rivers and say dry up, they will be dry. When I say to Cyrus, he is my shepherd, he will certainly do as I say. He will command rebuild Jerusalem. And he will say restore the temple. So what's the answer to the question? How can I refocus my life? The first thing is to become self-aware of where you have gone astray. Do you know?

Speaker 1:

This chapter really reminds me of what Jesus says about the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke. If you've never heard about the prodigal son, the story goes that there was a father who had two sons, and what happens when someone is going to pass away in that culture is they received an inheritance of whatever the father had. But one of the sons comes to him and he says I want my inheritance now, extremely disrespectful to the father. But the father did it. And while this young man had the money, he went away and for a little while he thought he knew better. He found what he thought was going to make him happy, and he found what he thought he needed to be successful, until the money ran out. And then he began to realize that all of that wasn't really what he thought it was. And the story ends with him coming back to his father. He's restored again, figuring out that the grass really wasn't greener on the other side of the fence. And there's a whole lot more to that story.

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But the idea is, how many times do we believe the lie that something else is better, that over there is where we need to be, and we we find ourselves going over there and doing that thing, and then at some point we wake up and we go wait a minute, what am I doing? This is not what I thought it was, can I tell you. I've I've talked to people who have who've gotten wrapped up in terrible, just horrible, addictions and sins. And it doesn't start off as an addiction, starts off as fun, starts off as exciting, it easy. You know someone who's going through a hard time instead of having the conversations or instead of turning to God and repenting of their sin. They find that I can take a drink, and when I drink this alcohol it numbs my emotions and I don't have to feel it anymore. Well, that's a whole lot easier than having to confront your sin and confront your bad decisions. So they will go and take another drink and at first it's fun. It makes you forget about your troubles and just for a little while you're numb to the darkness. The problem with that is is, after a little while one drink doesn't do it, it takes two, it takes three, it takes a whole lot more until you're not drinking to feel good, you're drinking to not feel so bad anymore and it becomes an addiction to where now that drink is a chain attached. I've heard of people do that with with pornography. I've heard people do that with extramarital relationships. I've heard people do that with gambling and with with all other types of things that turn into addictions.

Speaker 1:

And the problem is, is that at some point we have to become self-aware like this, like what? Like what God is saying about this idol maker? I mean, you think about it for a moment. If you're outside looking in, you go how silly. I mean, this person takes a piece of wood. They cut it in half and with one half of it they make a fire Absolutely just worth burning. The other half they carve it and they bow down and worship it. We look at that from the outside, looking in, and go. That's just stupid. You know what I mean. How many times do people on the outside of our addictions look at us and go man, what a waste. And the thing is is it has become a blind spot to us, just like this person who has burned half of this piece of wood and created this idol. They don't see it for what it is. It's a blind spot to them. How many times Are there blind spots in our life that we can't see?

Speaker 1:

And so the answer to the question, how do I refocus my life? Is by first becoming aware of where those blind spots are and where we've turned away from the Lord. So here's my question for you today Is there a place in your life where you are medicating pain that is actually destroying your life? I would encourage you to pray a bold prayer, and that is to ask the Lord in prayer God, is there an area in my life that I'm blinded to, that maybe I am self-medicating my pain or there's something that is actually keeping me from focusing my life. And here's the thing that if there's nothing like that in your life, then when you pray, you're going to feel the peace of God and you're going to be just fine. But for many of us, if we pray a bold prayer like that, god will open our eyes and realize wow, I have been leaning on that rather than leaning on the Lord. Yes, that has become something that I don't even take joy in anymore. Now I'm just medicating my medication rather than experiencing the joy of the Lord.

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And the step to refocusing your life is to become aware of the chains that are binding us and then having the courage to step away from those chains and step toward the freedom of God. I want to encourage you not to do it alone. It is so hard to find freedom all by yourself, and so, if the Lord opens your eyes to something that you need to walk away from, find someone in your life you can trust and ask them to help you. Now, that doesn't mean to carry the weight for you, but to walk with you as you walk toward freedom. That may look like accountability. That may look like reading through an extra Bible study together. That may look like being part of a process of saying goodbye to some yesterdays. I don't know what that is, but let them walk with you, because we refocus our life by asking the Lord to open our eyes to see it and then having the courage to take the next step.

Speaker 1:

Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, lord, that whatever we're willing to bring, you are willing to free us from. So, lord, as we ask a bold prayer like God, is there anything in my life that's keeping me from being focused on you? Anything that's stealing my freedom? When we ask prayers like that and you open our eyes to see them, let us not run away from it, but let us run toward that freedom. Today, in Jesus' name, we pray Amen and amen. God's word says in Isaiah, chapter 12, amen and amen. 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, god, is my strength and my song. He has given me victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 45.

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Brandon Cannon

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