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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com. You're listening

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Speaker 1: to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm John Stonge

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Speaker 1: and today we're in Isaiah chapter 45 and we'll be

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Speaker 1: reading from the New English Translation. This is what the

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Speaker 1: Lord says to his chosen one, to Cyrus, whose right

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Speaker 1: hand I hold, in order to subdue nations before him

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Speaker 1: and disarm kings, to open doors before him so gates

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Speaker 1: remain unclosed. I will go before you and level mountains.

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Speaker 1: Bronze doors I will shatter and iron bars I will

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Speaker 1: hack through. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stashed

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Speaker 1: away in secret places, so you may recognize that I

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Speaker 1: am the Lord, the one who calls you by name.

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Speaker 1: the God of Israel. For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel,

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Speaker 1: my chosen one, I call you by name and give

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Speaker 1: you a title of respect even though you do not

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Speaker 1: recognize me. I am the Lord. I have no peer.

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Speaker 1: There is no God but me. I arm you for

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Speaker 1: battle even though you do not recognize me. I do

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Speaker 1: this so people will recognize from east to west that

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Speaker 1: that there is no God but me. I am the Lord,

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Speaker 1: I have no peer. I am the one who forms

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Speaker 1: light and creates darkness, the one who brings about peace

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Speaker 1: and creates calamity. I am the Lord who accomplishes all

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Speaker 1: these things. O sky, rain down from above. Let the

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Speaker 1: clouds send down showers of deliverance. Let the earth absorb

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Speaker 1: it so salvation may grow. and deliverance may sprout up

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Speaker 1: along with it. I, the Lord, create it. One who

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Speaker 1: argues with his Creator is in grave danger, one who

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Speaker 1: is like a mere shard among the other shards on

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Speaker 1: the ground. The clay should not say to the potter,

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Speaker 1: What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill.

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Speaker 1: Danger awaits one who says to his father, What in

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Speaker 1: the world are you fathering? And to his mother, What

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Speaker 1: in the world are you bringing forth? This is what

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Speaker 1: the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel, the one

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Speaker 1: who formed him, concerning things to come. How dare you

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Speaker 1: question me about my children? How dare you tell me

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Speaker 1: what to do with the work of my own hands?

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Speaker 1: I made the earth. I created the people who live

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Speaker 1: in it. It was me. My hand stretched out the sky.

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Speaker 1: I give orders to all the heavenly lights. It is me.

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Speaker 1: I stir him up and commission him. I will make

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Speaker 1: all his ways level. He will rebuild my city. He

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Speaker 1: will send my exiled people home. But not for a

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Speaker 1: price or a bribe, says the Lord who commands armies.

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Speaker 1: This is what the Lord says. The prophet of Egypt

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Speaker 1: and the revenue of Ethiopia, along with the Sabaeans, those

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Speaker 1: tall men, will be brought to you and become yours.

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Speaker 1: They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. They

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Speaker 1: will bow down to you and pray to you. Truly

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Speaker 1: God is with you. He has no peer. There is

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Speaker 1: no other God. Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,

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Speaker 1: O God of Israel, Deliverer. They will all be ashamed

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Speaker 1: and embarrassed. Those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.

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Speaker 1: Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord.

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Speaker 1: You will never again be ashamed or humiliated. For this

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Speaker 1: is what the Lord says, the one who created the sky.

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Speaker 1: He is the true God, the one who formed the

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Speaker 1: earth and made it. He established it. He did not

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Speaker 1: create it without order. He formed it to be inhabited.

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Speaker 1: I am the Lord, I have no peer. I have

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Speaker 1: not spoken in secret in some hidden place. I did

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Speaker 1: not tell Jacob's descendants, seek me in vain. I am

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Speaker 1: the Lord, the one who speaks honestly, who makes reliable announcements.

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Speaker 1: Gather together and come. Approach together, you refugees from the nations.

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Speaker 1: Those who carry wooden idols know nothing. Those who pray

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Speaker 1: to a God that cannot deliver. Tell me, present the evidence.

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Speaker 1: Let them consult with one another. Who predicted this in

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Speaker 1: the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I,

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Speaker 1: the Lord? I have no peer. There is no God

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Speaker 1: but me. A God who vindicates and delivers. There is

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Speaker 1: none but me. Turn to me, so you can be delivered.

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Speaker 1: All you who live in the earth's remote regions. for

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Speaker 1: I am God and I have no peer. I solemnly

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Speaker 1: make this oath. What I say is true and reliable.

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Speaker 1: Surely every knee will bow to me. Every tongue will

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Speaker 1: solemnly affirm. They will say about me, yes, the Lord

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Speaker 1: is a powerful deliverer. All who are angry at him

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Speaker 1: will cower before him. All the descendants of Israel will

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Speaker 1: be vindicated by the Lord. and will boast in Him.

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Speaker 1: Let's pray. Lord, we thank You for Your Word, and

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Speaker 1: we thank You for being able to look at this

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Speaker 1: portion of Scripture today. We thank You that You've given

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Speaker 1: us access to it, and we thank You that by

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Speaker 1: Your Holy Spirit You grant us insight into Your Word.

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Speaker 1: And Lord, in this portion of Scripture we recognize that

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Speaker 1: You are the only God. And as You tell us

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Speaker 1: in this Scripture, every knee will bow and every tongue

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Speaker 1: will confess that You are Lord. Specifically, Lord, we know

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Speaker 1: that in the book of Philippians, this teaching is applied

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Speaker 1: to your son, Jesus Christ, as we're told that all

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Speaker 1: the nations will bow and confess that Christ is Lord

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Speaker 1: to the glory of God the Father. So we're grateful, Lord,

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Speaker 1: for the fact that you have revealed these things to

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Speaker 1: us prophetically. We're grateful for the privilege to be able

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Speaker 1: to bow before you and call you Lord now. And

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Speaker 1: we look forward to what you have in store in

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Speaker 1: the future for all those who trust in you and

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Speaker 1: love you. Thank you, Lord, for your presence with us today.

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Speaker 1: We commit this day to your care, and we pray

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Speaker 1: this all in Jesus' name. Amen.