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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 41, and we'll be

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Speaker 1: reading from the New Living Translation. Listen in silence before me,

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Speaker 1: you lands beyond the sea, Bring your strongest arguments. Come

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Speaker 1: now and speak. The court is ready for your case.

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Speaker 1: Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly

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Speaker 1: calling him to God's service? Who gives this man victory

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Speaker 1: over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot?

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Speaker 1: With his sword he reduces armies to dust. With his

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Speaker 1: bow he scatters them like chaff before the wind. He

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Speaker 1: chases them away and goes on safely, though he is

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Speaker 1: walking over unfamiliar ground. Who has done such mighty deeds,

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Speaker 1: summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It

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Speaker 1: is I, the Lord, the first and the last. I

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Speaker 1: alone am He. The lands beyond the sea watch in fear.

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Speaker 1: Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. The idol makers

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Speaker 1: encourage one another, saying to each other, Be strong. The

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Speaker 1: carver encourages the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. Good,

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Speaker 1: they say, it's coming along fine. Carefully they join the

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Speaker 1: parts together, then fasten the thing in place so it

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Speaker 1: won't fall over. But as for you, Israel my servant,

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Speaker 1: Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, I

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Speaker 1: have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying,

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Speaker 1: You are my servant, for I have chosen you and

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Speaker 1: will not throw you away. Don't be afraid, for I

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Speaker 1: am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.

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Speaker 1: I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold

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Speaker 1: you up with my victorious right hand. See, all your

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Speaker 1: angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes

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Speaker 1: you will die and come to nothing. You will look

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Speaker 1: in vain for those who tried to conquer you. Those

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Speaker 1: who attack you will come to nothing. For I hold

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Speaker 1: you by your right hand, I, the Lord, your God.

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Speaker 1: And I say to you, don't be afraid. I am

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Speaker 1: here to help you. Though you are a lowly worm,

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Speaker 1: O Jacob, don't be afraid, people of Israel, for I

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Speaker 1: will help you. I am the Lord, your Redeemer. I

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Speaker 1: am the Holy One of Israel. You will be a

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Speaker 1: new threshing instrument with many sharp teeth. You will tear

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Speaker 1: your enemies apart, making chaff of mountains. You will toss

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Speaker 1: them into the air, and the wind will blow them

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Speaker 1: all away. A whirlwind will scatter them. Then you will

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Speaker 1: rejoice in the Lord. You will glory in the Holy

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Speaker 1: One of Israel. When the poor and needy search for

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Speaker 1: water and there is none, and their tongues are parched

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Speaker 1: from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I,

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Speaker 1: the God of Israel, will never abandon them. I will

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Speaker 1: open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I

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Speaker 1: will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I

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Speaker 1: will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed

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Speaker 1: by springs will flow across the parched ground. I will

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Speaker 1: plant trees in the barren desert, cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir,

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Speaker 1: and pine. I am doing this so all who see

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Speaker 1: this miracle will understand what it means. That it is

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Speaker 1: the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of

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Speaker 1: Israel who created it. Present the case for your idols,

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Speaker 1: says the Lord. Let them show what they can do,

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Speaker 1: says the King of Israel. Let them try to tell

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Speaker 1: us what happened long ago so that we may consider

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Speaker 1: the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future

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Speaker 1: holds so we can know what's going to happen. Yes,

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Speaker 1: tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then

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Speaker 1: we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything,

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Speaker 1: good or bad. Do something that will amaze and frighten us.

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Speaker 1: But no, you are less than nothing and can do

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Speaker 1: nothing at all Those who choose you pollute themselves. But

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Speaker 1: I have stirred up a leader who will approach from

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Speaker 1: the north. From the east he will call on my name.

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Speaker 1: I will give him victory over kings and princes. He

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Speaker 1: will trample them as a potter treads on clay. Who

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Speaker 1: told you from the beginning that this would happen? Who

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Speaker 1: predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No

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Speaker 1: one said a word. I was the first to tell Zion, look,

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Speaker 1: help is on the way. I will send Jerusalem a

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Speaker 1: messenger with good news. Not one of your idols told

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Speaker 1: you this. No one gave any answer when I asked. See,

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Speaker 1: they are all foolish, worthless things. All your idols are

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Speaker 1: as empty as the wind. Let's pray. Lord, we thank

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Speaker 1: you for your word and we thank you for the

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Speaker 1: privilege to be able to look at this portion of

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Speaker 1: scripture today and to recognize that you alone are God,

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Speaker 1: that the idols that our hearts sometimes crave and that

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Speaker 1: humanity from our earliest days have attempted to worship are nothing.

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Speaker 1: Those idols are absolutely nothing. They can't tell us about

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Speaker 1: the past. They can't predict the future. They're just man-made

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Speaker 1: substitutes that compete for our affections for you Lord, we

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Speaker 1: know that your calling on our lives is that we

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Speaker 1: would be men and women who trust in you by

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Speaker 1: faith in your Son, Jesus Christ, and that our lives

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Speaker 1: reflect the nature of our genuine faith. So, Lord, we

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Speaker 1: pray that by your grace that we would walk with

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Speaker 1: you today, and we thank you that you're present with us. Lord,

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Speaker 1: we love you, we commit this day to your care,

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Speaker 1: and we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.