The Bible Breakdown

Isaiah 47: Naked Embarrassment

• Brandon Cannon • Episode 625

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Speaker 1:

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Isaiah, chapter 47, today's title is Naked Embarrassment Naked Embarrassment man. I have got a story for you and today's about that judgment again, so we're going to jump right back into it, but before we do, make sure you are like sharing and subscribing to the YouTube channel. Make sure you're commenting on the YouTube videos. I love interacting with you every day. Make sure you are leaving us a five-star review on whatever podcast app you're listening to. We have it now on Amazon, spotify and, of course, apple and all the things. So make sure you are leaving us those reviews. It helps us in the search algorithms. And make sure you are going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook man. The more we dig, the more we find, and they're doing a great job over there If you have your Bibles. I want to open up with me to Isaiah, chapter 47. Remember, the overall theme is God, our salvation, and salvation for us, but then also judgment toward our enemies, and it's so important to remember that. And what we're going to see today is there is this prediction of Babylon's fall, even before they attack them, and God is saying if you will turn to me. This is what I'm going to do to your enemy. And he's just talking about how they're so prideful and they think they've got it all figured out. They don't need God, they got whatever. Well, they're going to get embarrassed and they're going to be ashamed like they naked up in here. And it makes me think of.

Speaker 1:

I had a friend of mine who he was a massage therapist and he would go and he had this massage place that he would go to, almost like a doctor's office. He would go massage people and he started doing these house calls where people would, especially if they had a lot of difficulties and different things and they couldn't get out of their house. He really was a massage therapist and he would go and help help these people, whatever. And he even got to the place where he started doing these massage parties, where they'd have a party and you'd go in and have like 15 minutes and kind of get a massage and all this kind of stuff, and he just loved it. He loves people, loves being around people, and he said one day that he was invited to this party. And when he was invited to this party, he goes, he gets his table set up and all this kind of stuff.

Speaker 1:

And he said, when he did that, these people walked in and they were naked. And he was like whoa, wait a minute, it's not that kind of massage. And they were like oh no, no, nothing weird, this is just what we do at our parties. And he's like, excuse me. And they said, yeah, this is a party where a bunch of us get together and we just walk around naked. And he said no, no, no, no, no, I don't do naked. He's like no, no, no, no. And he said that he had never packed up his stuff as fast as he did and just covered his eyes and just walked out of there as fast as he could. And he said later that he got a phone call from the people who had booked him and they said we are so sorry, we didn't know that you minded. And he said, excuse me, how about you never do that to me again? I don't do naked.

Speaker 1:

And he just now has this thing where he just asks people. He said listen, how prideful are you, how proud of yourself are you? Because I don't do naked. I don't do naked. And when I was thinking about that as I was preparing this, because there is such a pride that the Babylonians have. But God's looking at him and he is saying no, no, you are not what you think you are. And it would almost be this wonderful, this idea of saying no, no, we don't do naked. In other words, we are not going to put ourselves in a position where we are going to ever be ashamed. And pride creates shame, because it's almost like the emperor's new clothes and it's the idea of I am walking around in a lie. I'm not ever going to do that. I always want to walk around humbly so that I never get to the place where I'm ever ashamed.

Speaker 1:

So, with that bizarre story, let's get into Isaiah, chapter 47. You ready? Isaiah 47, verse 1, says this Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust, for your days of sitting on a throne have ended. O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. Take heavy millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to the public. You will be naked and burdened with shame. I will take vengeance against you without pity. Good heavens right. Our Redeemer, whose name is the Lord of heaven's armies, is the Holy One of Israel, a beautiful, oh, beautiful Babylon, sit now in darkness and silence. Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms, for I was angry with my chosen people and punished them by letting them fall into your hands. But you, babylon, showed them no mercy. You oppressed them, even the elderly. You said I will reign forever as queen of the world. You did not reflect on your actions or think about their consequences.

Speaker 1:

So listen to this, you, pleasure-loving kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure. You say I am the only one, there is no other. I will never be a widow or lose my children. Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you. Despite all your witchcraft and magic, you felt secure in your wickedness. No one sees me, you said. But your wisdom and knowledge have led you astray. And you said I am the only one and there is no other. So disaster will overtake you. You won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you and you won't be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared. Now, use your magical charms, use the spells you have worked at all these years. Maybe they will do you some good, maybe they can make someone afraid of you. All the advice you receive has made you tired. Where are all your astrologers, those stargazers who make predictions each month? Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds, but they are like straw burning in a fire. Wow, wow.

Speaker 1:

God did not hold back when pronouncing judgment on Babylon. And why? Because of their pride and because they oppressed God's people. Pride is dangerous because pride makes us think we can act independently of God when actually we are naked and alone and without help if we do it without God. Just like my friend who was like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't ever want to be in an environment like that. We don't do naked.

Speaker 1:

I told that story to my girls one time, and so now we have this catchphrase in my house, and that is we don't do naked, we don't do naked. It just is a joke for that. But it's not a bad statement when it comes to the idea of pride, because when we think that we are mighty, we have to be careful because we will fall. We have to be so careful to always remember that we need God, and that doesn't mean we can't have confidence. I think we should be confident, but we are confident because we know where our strength comes from. I am so confident that I can do everything that God has called me to do because he has empowered me. But whenever we think that we have greatness on our own, we really are naked. We really are more ashamed than we should be, more ashamed than we realize. And so the catchphrase of the day is I don't ever want to do naked. In other words, I don't ever want to be in a place where I have baseless confidence in my own self, apart from God, because when that happens, I'm actually ready for a fall.

Speaker 1:

I want to ask you this question Is there an area of your life where you are putting all of your confidence in your own abilities rather than the abilities you have because of God? Let me say that again Is there an area of your life where you're putting all of your confidence in your own abilities rather than your abilities because of the strength of God? It's a subtle difference, but it's a major difference, because if you have to depend on yourself only, that's a lot of pressure. What do you do when you have a bad day? What do you do. When you run out of strength, that's a bad day. You end up finding yourself ashamed and embarrassed, and naked and alone. You end up finding yourself ashamed and embarrassed and naked and alone. But if you put all your confidence in what you can do, because the Lord has empowered you and so your ultimate strength comes from him, that is an endless supply, and you don't ever have to do naked.

Speaker 1:

Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, lord, that you are with us and you empower us, and everything we have comes from you. Everything we have, god, our heartbeat, our brains, our minds, our bodies, our opportunities, all of it is because of you. You sustain the world. Therefore, there is no shame in saying all my strength comes from you, because it does, whether I acknowledge it or not. So help us to acknowledge our dependence on you, not because it makes us weak or insecure, but because that's where true confidence lies. In Jesus' name, we pray amen, 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 is my strength and my song, and he has given me victory. I can't wait to hear one. Do you say to me the next few days hey, pastor, always remember we don't do naked. I'll see you tomorrow for Isaiah, chapter 48.

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Brandon Cannon

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