Text “rlcBible” to 94000 to get the newest chapters, updates, links, and resources.
Welcome to "The Bible Breakdown," where we break down God’s Word so we can know God better. I'm your host, Brandon Cannon, and I'm here to guide you through the pages of the Bible, one day at a time.
Each day, we'll read through a section of the Bible and explore key themes, motifs, and teachings. Whether you're new to the Bible or a seasoned veteran, I guarantee you'll find something insightful or inspiring. My hope is to encourage you to dive deeper and deeper.
So grab your Bible, your journal, your coffee, and join me on this journey of faith and discovery. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button to stay up-to-date with our daily readings and breakdowns.
Remember, as we journey through the pages of the Bible together, we're not just reading a book, we're unlocking the secrets to eternal life. The more we dig, the more we find! Let's get started!
Bible reading plan and SOAP guide: www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: www.brandoncannon.com
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
0:00
|
10:09
God doesn’t whisper His best life advice in a hidden code. Psalm 81 makes it painfully plain: “If only you would listen to me.” We sit with that line and let it search us, because most of us aren’t short on information we’re short on follow-through. If you’ve ever prayed, “God, I want to experience Your best,” but you feel stuck in the same patterns, this conversation gives you a clear next step.
We walk through Psalm 81 with the context that shapes it: a feast-day atmosphere, songs of worship, and a community looking back on God’s rescue from Egypt. Asaph reminds Israel that God carried the load, answered in trouble, and provided in the wilderness. Then God’s voice cuts in with a warning about false gods and a promise of real provision: “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.” We talk about what modern idolatry looks like, why stubborn desires feel like freedom but end up stealing it, and how God’s Word is always for His glory and our good.
The big takeaway is simple but challenging: obedience brings blessing. God’s commands are not there to limit us; they are there to lead us into freedom in Christ and a life that actually works. If you want a practical, encouraging push toward Christian discipleship and spiritual growth, press play, pray with us at the end, and choose one act of obedience for today. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a five-star review.
Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, Psalm chapter 81. And today's title is How to Experience God's Best. How to Experience God's Best. This
reminds me of when I was 15 years old, I had an opportunity to work at a fast food restaurant. I'm not going to tell you which one because, well, I'm maybe just a little embarrassed. But I was working there and I decided at 15 years old, I didn't just want to be an employee. I wanted to be a manager. That's the level of growing up I needed to do. But I wanted to do it the right way. So I remember going to my boss and saying, okay, what do I need to do to become a manager? And so he told me, you know, all these different steps I needed to take and the process I needed to go through. And I was like, okay. And according to the story he told me later, he said, I literally came up to him the next day and said, Okay, now what do I do to be a manager? And he said, Brandon, I've already told you what to do to be a manager. Do the things I've told you to do. And one day you will get there. And I was like, okay, so so how many days is that gonna take? And he just like, you are not getting it. If you will do the right things the right way over the course of time, you will get there. But just wanting to be a manager will not get you there. And that reminds me so much of this passage, which by the way, I did not make it to manager before I moved on to the next place. But if you have ever wondered that with God, God, how can I experience your best? And you wonder, okay, well, what about today? Well, what about today? Well, I want to talk about that in today's podcast because maybe it's possible that to the way to God's best is simple, but not necessarily simplistic. We'll get all that in just a moment. So if you want to get your Bibles out, turn with me to Psalm chapter 81. Also, want to get your Bible journals out, get your coffee out. We're gonna have a lot of fun today. Also, make sure you take just a moment and like, share, and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help. And make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job. And you can get all that information by going to the Biblebreakdown.com because the more we dig, the more
we find. Well, if you've been with us now for quite a while, we have been going through the book of Psalms one chapter at a time because it is the greatest hits of the people of God, all the way from the time of Moses to the time of Malachi. And it is how the people of God are learning how to do life with God. And we've been talking about how that's exactly what the book of Psalms teaches us. It teaches us how to laugh with God, how to cry with God, how to take road trips with God. I mean, literally doing everything with God. And today it's all about this idea of how to experience God's best. This song was written by Asaph, which would have been a choir director. And this was likely written during the time of one of the main feast days, like the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Trumpets. And so it'll be a time of celebration, a time of happy reflection. These were, these would have been during the fall festivals. So the harvest had come through. And so kind of get that mindset of we're celebrating God, but God, at the same time, we want to stay in your good favor. We want the good things of God in our life. And with that, now they are talking about this is what it's
going to take. So if you're ready, Psalm chapter 81, verse one says this sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to God, O Jacob. Sing, beat the tambourine. Pause. No, we don't want to beat the tambourine. Leave the tambourine alone. That's just a me thing. All right. Press play again. Verse 2 sing, beat the tambourine if you must. Play the sweet lyre and the harp. Blow the ram's horn at the new moon. And again at the full moon to call a festival. For this is required by the decrees of Israel. It is a regulation of the God of Jacob. He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say, Now I will take the load from your shoulders, and I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you. I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water in Meribah. Interlude, which means let the band play. So while the band is playing, what he's talking about is he's talking about when the nation of Israel was rescued from Egypt, they went to Mount Sinai, and the Bible says that God came down in Exodus chapter 19 with thunder and clouds. And then after that, or excuse me, before that, there was a time when they didn't have any water and they had to trust God at this place called Meribah to make the water where they could drink it. So in other words, he was saying, You trusted me and I came through for you. Okay, the band is done. Back in verse 8. Listen to me, O my people, while I give you a stern warning. O Israel, if you would only listen to me, you must never have a foreign God. You must not bow down before a false God. For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. But no, my people wouldn't listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me. Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths, how quickly I would then subdue their enemies, how soon my hands would be upon their foes. Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, and they would be doomed forever. But I would feed you with the finest wheat, and I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.
I will tell you to me, one of the saddest verses that we have read so far is when God says twice, O Israel, that you would only listen to me. That's what I was telling you at the beginning. That's what my my manager was trying to tell me. He's like, like, like, listen. And uh as time passes, there was this old uh YouTube video where there was this uh little kid talking to this older person and saying, Listen, Linda, listen. It's almost like that's what God is saying is I've got such good things for you. And I have told you what to do if only you would listen. And that's what my manager was trying to tell me. He's like, Brandon, you you you're not listening. Like, like, listen. This I'm gonna tell you what to do, but you got to pay attention. And I don't know about you, but in my life, so many times I have read through God's word, and God's word says, Hey, you need to be careful. Stay away from this, stay away from that. Those things will steal your freedom. So follow me. Don't follow this. And I would say, okay, God, that sounds great. Close my Bible, then go do my own thing. And then I come back to God and I say, God, I want to experience your best, but I'm not. And it's almost like God in his kindness is saying, if only you would listen to me, and if only you would follow me. Okay, God, I'm gonna listen, I'm gonna follow you. And I can go back and I read his word, put it down, go do my own thing, and come back, go, God, why am I not experiencing your best? And God is good. He's not like any of us because some of us at some point will just start kind of smacking somebody around and say, listen. And that's what God I think says to us sometimes, is you want to experience my best? Obedience brings blessing. And if you think about it, think about for just a moment why did God give us his word? God is already awesome. As this old song says, He is fire all by himself, right? He is already awesome, he doesn't need anything. We can't make him any greater than he is, we can't make him any less. He he is fine all by himself. Why would he give us his word? He gives us his word to point to him so that we can find him and then we can walk in freedom. So everything written in his word is for his glory and our benefit. Therefore, there's nothing in his word that if we do it, it makes him any greater. It's all to help us be freer and to get closer to him. Therefore, if there's something in God's word that where he tells us to do something and we don't like it or we wonder about it, then we should always understand, remember who wrote it. Remember who inspired his word, the one who wants us more free than anyone, the one who wants who loves us more than anyone. He says that and he said, Oh, that you would listen to me. So the answer of how to experience God's best is to listen to him. And if we follow him, he always leads us in the right direction.
Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, God, that you are with us and that you're for us, and that it seems like every day we don't listen as well as we should. But your word says your mercies are new every morning. I pray, Lord, that for today we will listen and we will follow you, and we will see your goodness. And Lord, if we mess up, help us remember that tomorrow's a new day, and yet you never give up on us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Anyway, what God's word says in Psalm 34, verse 1, say it with me. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Psalm chapter 82.
.JPG)
