The Bible Breakdown

Isaiah 46: The Royal Rumble

• Brandon Cannon • Episode 623

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Speaker 1:

Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, isaiah, chapter 46, we're going to call today the Royal Rumble Royal Rumble. Hopefully this will make sense in just a moment. Once again, this is Pastor Brandon and the way his brain works. But before we get into all of that, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel. You leave us comments, you like it, all the things. Also, make sure you are liking and subscribing and all that to the podcast. Leave us a five-star review on the podcast it really does help and make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion, because the more we dig, the more we find.

Speaker 1:

If you have your Bible, want to open up with me to Isaiah, chapter 46. While you're doing that, I want to remind you that Isaiah is about the whole theme is God, our salvation, right? And this is the way this works out in my life, in my mind, rather, because what you're going to see is is you've almost got God versus these idols. That is constantly being battled in the book of Isaiah. Just because we think of the nation of Israel as God's chosen people, it doesn't mean that everybody was serving God right. That's quite the reason why. It's quite the opposite. It's why Isaiah wrote this, because people are not serving God. They're serving all these idols, and there's this constant battle of the Israelites are you going to trust in these idols, which they would have gotten from the neighboring nations? So are you going to follow the culture and what they're worshiping, or are you going to follow God and where he's leading you to go? And that immediately puts it in our modern context, right. And so you see this battle back and forth, and it's not really a battle. God's truly the winner, but it doesn't always look that way, right, and what it reminds me of is when I was a kid.

Speaker 1:

I haven't been into this for a long time. When I was a kid, there were these two World Wrestling Federations. It was WWF World Wrestling Federation and WCW Wrestling Championship, something. I don't know what it was, but one of them had this recurring event called the Royal Rumble, and what it was supposed to be is there's always some champion fighting against somebody else, and it was this big, epic battle, and as a kid I was like, oh man, who's going to win this battle? I don't know who's going to win this battle. It's going to be crazy. You know this kind of stuff. And it wasn't until I got older when I was like, wait a minute, this is not a battle. They have planned this. One of these guys is clearly already going to win.

Speaker 1:

And when I was reading this I was like, wait a minute, this is God saying this is not really a battle, like I'm real and they're not. So it's really like are you going to go with what's real or are you going to not? But it's not really like who's bigger and what we're going to is is so very pertinent, so very relevant to what we deal with, because all the things that we find ourselves chasing a lot of times we know they don't satisfy, but it's easier because we can control those things, when, rather, turning to God means we have to release control and let Him lead. But it's not really a contest. We know what's better. It's just hard sometimes. We're going to see if we can find that in today's passage, so if you're ready, isaiah, chapter 46, verse 1, says this Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground.

Speaker 1:

They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight. Both the idols and their owners are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people. The people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together.

Speaker 1:

Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime, until your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

Speaker 1:

To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. They will bow down and worship it. They carry it around on their shoulders and when they set it down, it stays there. It can't even move, and when someone prays to it, there's no answer. It can't rescue anyone from trouble. Do not forget this. Keep it in mind. Remember this, you guilty ones, For I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east. A leader from distant land will come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do and I will do it. Listen to me, you stubborn people. Who are you? Who are? Wait, let me try that again.

Speaker 1:

Verse 12. Listen to me, you stubborn people who are so far from doing right, for I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now. I am ready to save Jerusalem and show my glory to Israel. I love the way that ends. It ends because he's saying there are these fake things called idols and there's me, and it seems as though there is a battle, but there's really not. There's really what's false and what's real.

Speaker 1:

The reality is is we know, in the end, we know that all these other things don't satisfy. Our addictions don't satisfy. Can we get really, really honest for a moment? Pornography is brutal, is dangerous, is terrible and it is extremely addictive because for just a moment it fills the emptiness and the loneliness in our lives, but we know it doesn't satisfy. Alcohol is dangerous, it is difficult and we know it doesn't satisfy, but for just a moment it numbs us to our pain.

Speaker 1:

Talking to people, flirting with people, doing things that attract the opposite sex when we're married to somebody else. It is difficult, it is dangerous, but it allures us because we want to be wanted, but in the end of the day, we know it doesn't satisfy. Chasing after all the gold in the king's house, chasing after prestige and position and being noticed and being an influencer on social media. You know why we seek after that is because we crave acceptance, crave significance. But the reality is we know it doesn't satisfy. But the problem is is there's a certain level of control that we think we have over those things? We think we have control over pornography because we're able to get cheap thrills when instead of commitment went instead of commitment. We think we have control over our alcohol because we don't have to do the hard work of fixing relationships in order to find healing, we just can take another drink. We think that we can have control over flirting with someone we're not married to because we want the attention without the commitment. There are so many things that we think we have that we really don't and we realize that they don't satisfy. There's such amazing news that God has.

Speaker 1:

I want to read the last two verses and then we're going to pray together. He says listen to me, you stubborn people, you who are far from doing what is right. Here it is. I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future. Right now I am ready to save. I don't know where you are. Right now I am ready to save. I don't know where you are right now.

Speaker 1:

Maybe you're in a position where there was a time in your life where you self-medicated your difficulties and your struggles and things with these cheap thrills that don't satisfy, and now you're free. And so in just a moment, I pray, I would encourage you to take a moment and just to celebrate your freedom, celebrate that that used to have a hold on you and it doesn't. Maybe you're somebody who you're free, but you know someone who is not, and I pray the Holy Spirit puts that person on your mind so that you can start interceding for them and preparing your heart so that, if he opens the door for them to talk to you, you'll be ready to step into that relationship. But maybe you're someone that, if you're honest, you're self-medicating with idols, with things that have taken the place of God in your life, and you know what God says to you. I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, not when you think you get your life together, not when you whatever.

Speaker 1:

God doesn't want you clean. He wants you right now. He's the one who helps you get clean and he says if you are ready, right now is the moment of your salvation. Right now is the moment for the healing to start, but you have to have the courage to come to him. I want to pray for you and then it's time to do some business with the Lord. You ready, let's pray God. Thank you so much that you see us and you are ready right now.

Speaker 1:

It's not really a royal rumble. It's not really a battle. It's between what is false, what doesn't satisfy, and the one who does. I pray, god, that you will be that satisfaction in our life. You'll give us the courage to take the next step right now. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen. I can't wait to see what God does in your life. God's word says in Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 2, 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 the victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 47.

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Brandon Cannon

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