The Bible Breakdown

Isaiah 50: Bring it On!

• Brandon Cannon • Episode 628

Share episode
Speaker 1:

Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Isaiah, chapter 50, and today's title is Bring it On, bring it On. And this chapter reminds me of a guy one time I was talking to and he was training for a fight. And as he was training for this fight, he was having to work out and he was running and he was sparring with different ones and all this stuff. And what I was doing was I was talking to him one day and his trainer comes up to him and he says, all right, coming up this next week, we're going to make it even harder because we're getting close to the fight. So we really have to ramp it up. And as I was hearing all the different things that he was going to have to do, in my mind I was thinking, man, it's time to tap out. That seems impossible. But the worse it sounded, my friend started to smile and he had this kind of glint in his eye and he was like all right, bring it on, bring it on. And I knew his kind of.

Speaker 1:

His motto in life was that the harder it gets, the more I learn what I can handle. The harder it gets, the more I can learn what I can handle, and I think about that when I think about this verse or this chapter, where God's word is teaching us that, yes, difficult times come, but those difficult times create resilience in us, because sometimes we don't realize how strong we are until we go through something hard, and it's then we realize where our strength truly comes from, and it's from the Lord. We're going to get all that in just a moment. 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're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help and I've been seeing some of you who've been leaving those reviews for us, at least the five-star review on Spotify, and you are telling me that you're leaving the five stars but you can't really leave comments. Well, if you go to the Apple podcast app, you can leave comments there and it really does help us. Not only is it encouraging to our team, but it's also encouraging for others who are looking in and seeing if this is something that they can benefit from. Also, make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook, because the more we dig, the more we find, and they're leaving these wonderful devotions every single day.

Speaker 1:

Well, if you have your Bible and want to open up with me to Isaiah, chapter 50, once again remember that the overall focus, the theme of Isaiah, is God is our salvation. And once we realize that God is our salvation, that foundation helps us walk into any environment. It reminds me of the book of Ephesians. Paul is talking about what it is to live with God as our focus and as our goal, and he likens it to having spiritual armor on and he talks about how our feet he said our feet are our clothes. It's like putting on shoes of the gospel of peace. And what that means is, everywhere we walk, we're able to be at peace because we have peace with God. And that peace with God gives us peace with others, so that whenever we're facing any kind of difficulty, we can say, like my friend said, and that is, bring it on. Bring it on Because every hard thing just teaches me how to be strong myself. And I feel like that's what we're reading. We're reading Isaiah 50. So we're going to jump into this, we're going to see what God's word has to say to us today. You ready?

Speaker 1:

Isaiah, chapter 50, verse one, says this. This is what the Lord says. Was your mother sent away because I divorced her? Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors? No, you were sold because of your sins. In other words, you got into difficulty because of your sins, and your mother, too, was taken because of your sins.

Speaker 1:

Why was no one there when I came? Why didn't anyone answer when I called? Is it because I have no power to rescue? No, didn't anyone answer when I called. Is it because I have no power to rescue? No, that is not the reason, for I can speak to the sea and make it dry up. I can turn rivers into deserts covered by dying fish. I dress the skies in darkness, covering them with clothes of mourning.

Speaker 1:

The sovereign Lord has given me this word of wisdom so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning, he awakens me and he opens my understanding to his will. The sovereign Lord has spoken to me and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offer my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting, because the sovereign Lord helps me.

Speaker 1:

I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will, and I know that I will not be put to shame. He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to bring charges against me? Now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear. See, the sovereign Lord is on my side. Who will declare me guilty? All of my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moss. Who, among you, fears the Lord? He obeys and obeys his servant. If you are walking in darkness without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God, but watch out. You who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires, this is the reward you will receive from me. You will soon fall down in great torment.

Speaker 1:

So what is God's word saying here? He is saying that when you are struggling, make sure you're struggling for the right reasons and remember that God will be with you. We see this in 1 and 2 Peter. Remember that God will be with you. We see this in 1 and 2 Peter, when Peter is talking about how, during that time, they were starting to experience persecution. And he said now listen, we all receive certain types of persecution, but make sure you're receiving persecution for the right reason, because if you are being criticized for something other than God, well then you're just being criticized. But if you're being criticized because you're following the Lord, then you're just being criticized. But if you're being criticized because you're following the Lord, then you know that the Lord is with you and, just like my friend from the very beginning, when you see hard times but you see that it's hard because you're serving God, because there's a good plan in place it increases your resilience. Let me give you an example.

Speaker 1:

I knew a guy one time who who he worked at a place to where, after working there for a little while, he claims and I don't you know, I'm not going to say his name, but even then, just in case, he claims that he knew that some of his coworkers were kind of skimming off the top of the financials of where he worked and apparently it was very normal. They were saying, hey, everybody does this. This is just part of it. It might as well be written into our contracts. It's all a way for us to make some extra money. And it was such a common thing that he thought very seriously about doing it himself, because he was saying like this is something that everybody says that they do, and even the boss is saying that he does it. It's just an open secret. He's like but you know, I can't do that because I wasn't hired to do that. I was hired for this contract, for this amount of money, and it's not written in my contract that this is an incentive, so I can't do it.

Speaker 1:

Well, after about a year and this whole time during this year, he's doing okay financially, but he's not doing as okay as everybody else. And it would have been so easy for him to have just started skimming off the top like everybody else, because that's what everybody was doing. But he stuck to his integrity because he felt like that it would be stealing and he knew that God wouldn't smile on it. And even though that would happen, he just it continued to actually build him up because he felt like he was quote unquote suffering because he was doing the right thing. Well, about a year into it, the home office came down and did an audit and in that audit they discovered that most people were skimming off the top and they all got fired. Some of them had legal action taken against them. One of the few people that didn't have any of that happen was my friend who had been honest and been sincere, and so what looked like someone who is getting behind because of their integrity and saying that's ridiculous man, you need to be doing everybody else. In the end, not only did it steal him to say I'm going to do what's right, but in the end, not only did he not lose his job, but, because it wasn't hardly anybody left, he got promoted because, also, he'd proven himself to be trustworthy.

Speaker 1:

And I want to ask you this question Are you trusting God to take care of you, even when everyone else around you seems to be trusting in other things? Are you trusting in God that, when you are facing a difficult season, you're trusting God to take care of you instead of taking shortcuts in your life? I don't know what that may look like for you. That may look like what I was talking about with my friend about not skimming off the top in a job situation, about not giving in to cheap relationships because you're lonely, but instead trusting God that at the right time, he's going to send the right person in your life. Maybe it has to do with something else, I don't know what it is, but are you trusting God to take care of you, even when everybody else is going another direction. It can be so hard to do, but I want to promise you that God loves you more than you can imagine, and God will take care of you. And so, if you're doing the right thing for the right reason, god will always point you in the right direction.

Speaker 1:

But I also want to warn you. It may look like for a season that everybody else is getting ahead instead of you. You may find yourself yourself saying god, this isn't fair. I'm honoring you and I'm obeying you and I'm struggling because of it. Can I tell you, in the end it always pays off that you will see down the road, those who took the quick road, those who took the easy way, those who didn't honor god it always catches up with them, whereas when you honor God, it just gets better and better and better.

Speaker 1:

Let's pray together right now, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you that you are worthy and that you are faithful and that, lord, you never send us on any journey without also equipping us for the road. I pray, lord, that you open our eyes to see how you are moving and give us the endurance to stand strong In Jesus' name. We pray Amen. Say this with me. Isaiah 12, verse 2 says God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid the Lord. God is my strength and my song, and he has given me victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Isaiah, chapter 51.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Brandon Cannon

Host