March 21-22, 2020

Isaiah | Part 6Trusting God

Some housekeeping for you:

• COVID-19: In light of COVID-19 and the government’s requests you may not be able to meet in person, but we have provided you a document on the SG HUB on how to set up your group digitally. We have also provided several documents that should be helpful and of course if your group doesn’t choose to meet, please use these questions for your own study and reflection.

• Lots of Scripture still: This week you will be reading most of Isaiah 36-39. So plan on reading the Word of God out loud. You might even want to use a Bible app and let the Word of God be read that way.

• Don’t answer all the questions: Pick and choose what questions will land in your group. In fact, the best thing you can do is use these questions as jumping off points and write your own. You might even add other passages that compliment what is written below.

• Attendance: Thanks so much for keeping your group roster updated and taking attendance. It really partners with us to know who is active at HDC.

Any Questions: Please email smallgroups@highdesertchurch.com or talk to your campus point person.

Humble devotion to the Lord produces trust.

MAIN POINT

Leader Notes

1. What challenged or encouraged you from this weekend’s message?

2. In the midst of our current circumstances, what is one thing that is distracting you from trusting God more? Are there responsible ways to minimize this distraction?

3. What does devotion to the Lord look like in our current context? How does corporate prayer play a role in this?

Many people define devotion as commitment followed by action. In the context of our Christian walk, this includes reading scripture, prayer and attending Church services. The easiest one of these to do has been attend church to feel like a devoted Christian, but now that we cannot meet on physical campuses for a few weeks, it might be easy to become lax in our devotion to the Lord. One of the best ways to encourage each other in maintaining devotion to the Lord through Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to pray with and for one another. This can be done on a phone call, video chat, or in the context of a small group. Prayer binds us together and to a devoted trust for the Lord. This is so important at times like this where the activity of attending church at a physical location is put on pause. While we look forward to the day when we will be able to meet in large rooms again, don’t underestimate the power of prayer in growing our faith/trust in the Lord, and what He can do to deepen our trust during this season.

4. Read 2 Kings 18:1-8. What kind of king was Hezekiah as described in this chapter and 2 Kings 18? How do you think Hezekiah’s past actions contributed to the people’s response to the Assyrian field commanders taunt (Isaiah 36:13-22)?

In 2 Kings we see that Hezekiah is said to have followed in the footsteps of his father David. This is a biblical way of saying that he was devoted to the Lord, His Law, and His reputation, just like the young shepherd boy from Bethlehem, David. Hezekiah did not just talk about his devotion to the Lord, he took action. He led his people away from the evil distractions of idolatry and turned them towards the Lord. For many years the people of Judah were worshiping other Gods while trying to maintain an appearance of devotion to the Lord. They were still offering sacrifices to the Lord at the temple, but devoting time and resources to idols. Hezekiah tore down the idols that were set up though out the land of Judah, even destroying a relic used by Moses to provide healing for Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9).

When we read in Isaiah 36 that Hezekiah had told the people to trust the Lord to deliver them, his past actions of trying to point his people to the Lord become very important. In the midst of a very difficult circumstance he did not start trusting God, he had already been doing that. Rather, his trust in the Lord became very evident to his relational world. The consistence of his devotion to the Lord helped the people have confidence in the Lord so that they were not baited into doubt by the Assyrian commander’s words. Let this serve as an example to us.

• He did what was right in the Lord’s sight. • He removed high places, pillars, and Asherah connected with idol worship. • He trusted the Lord. • There was no king of Judah like him before or after him. • He clung to the Lord. • He kept God’s commandments. • The Lord was with him and prospered him. • He rebelled against the king of Assyria and didn’t serve him. He defeated the Philistines.

Read Isaiah 36-37

5. The King of Assyria asks two questions in 36:4-5. What are the questions and how would you answer those questions? How is our world answering those questions right now?

6. Look at Isaiah 37:1-4. How does Hezekiah’s response provide an example of what to do when our trust in the Lord is challenged? What does it look like for us to “tear our clothes and put on sackcloth”?

When Hezekiah heard the arrogance of the Assyrians, he expressed grief and humility both at the same time. The act of tearing one’s clothes was symbolic of “being undone,” or “laid bare.” When encountered with difficult circumstances many of us want to present a strong front. While at times we are doing this out of a true trust in the Lord, often times we are doing this because we are trusting in ourselves and our ability to handle it or we are just pretending. Hezekiah not only expressed grief in putting on sackcloth and going to the temple, he expressed humility and contrition: the idea of being sorrowful for one’s actions that may have led to the negative circumstances. While trouble is not always a result of personal sin, the reality of sin bringing about trouble in the world is always true (Genesis 3). He also sent messengers to seek a word from the Lord through Isaiah, the Lord’s prophet. This positioned Hezekiah in the place of trust in the Lord to supply what he could not, salvation.

When our trust in the Lord is challenged it is always helpful to remember our frailty, even our frailty in trusting the Lord. We work out our own salvation (faith) with fear and trembling because the Lord is working in us (Philippians 2:12-13). When things get hard, our faith is tested. It is only through a humble reliance on the Lord that our faith grows. It is when we draw near to God, like Hezekiah going to the temple, that the Lord can teach us how to trust Him. When we become overly consumed with how we can fix something, that is when pride sneaks in. Discuss ways to push into humility and reliance on God during this pandemic.

7. Look at Isaiah 37:14-20. What is the main theme of the prayer that Hezekiah offers to the LORD at the temple? What are some key phrases and words that stand out to you?

The main theme of Hezekiah’s prayer is that the reputation (name) of the Lord be vindicated and made know to the onlooking world. Hezekiah admits that his enemy is strong, but that he is not stronger than the Lord. His desire is that people would know that the Lord is the only true God. Is that what we want?

Take some time to brainstorm ideas about what it looks like to trust God in and through a pandemic. This does not mean that we are somehow seeking to obligate God to heal everyone infected, but rather, we are seeking to be the vehicle through which the Lord can make himself known. Making God known to those around us is not a list of things that the Lord can do for us, but an appreciation for who He is. Not everyone will appreciate who He is, but his people must, or they are not his people. Share a few ways that you have seen as valuable to a growing trust in the Lord.

Read Isaiah 38-39

8. How does Hezekiah’s response to the LORD’s word reveal trust in the LORD? How does this response provide an example for us to respond to difficult news? How do you think Hezekiah would have reacted if the Lord did not extend his life by 15 years?

Hezekiah’s response is a natural one, “I don’t want to die!” he asks the Lord to remember his past devotion. In this Hezekiah is placing his fate in the hands of the Lord. This is not an easy thing to do, but it is an easier thing to do if you have developed a pattern of reliance and trust in the Lord. If we compare this to the first response we read in chapter 37 we see the same pattern of coming to the Lord, not withdrawing from Him. While Hezekiah did not know that the Lord would heal him, he still asked. Sometimes we do not ask the Lord because we do not trust him with the answer. We don’t want to petition the Lord because we do not have a very good track record of trusting Him in the past. We all get the fact that it is hard to ask for something if you are not living up to what you already have. In our faith it can sometimes feel the same way. Rather than feeling badly about asking or telling the Lord how we feel, we should be aiming our devotion so that we do not feel bad and are therefore emboldened to approach the Lord.

In our present circumstance, depending on our past, personalities and preferences, we either see the pandemic as an opportunity for fear or frustration. Instead we can see it as an opportunity to draw near to the Lord and Trust him more. If this is our goal, then regardless of whether or not we are delivered from the circumstance, we are seen through it by the power of the Holy Spirit as He ministers to us through the Scriptures, prayer, and, other believers.

9. Read through Hezekiah’s poem. What are some of the proclamations about the Lord that stand out to you? How do they push you toward trusting the Lord? What are some very practical ways you can express your trust in the Lord to the people in your front row? Share some creative ways to do this in the midst of social distancing.

This poem is full of statements about the frailty of humanity and the power of the Lord. Life is compared to a tent and a rug that is easily tossed around and it alludes to how things can change in

a moment. In verse 15 the tone switches to acknowledgment of God’s provision. Recognizing that the trial produced humility and allows him to praise the Lord more authentically. We are not thankful if we don’t have something to be thankful for. The frailty of our everyday lives never comes into view unless hardships come. And through these hardships we can grow.

Spend some time thinking about how this circumstance of dealing with a pandemic can cause us to praise the Lord. Brainstorm ways that this praise can be shared with the people in your oikos in a real way, not just a social media post. We have a chance to show people that the church is not a building. It is people, that while they love to gather on the weekends, still love to praise the Lord every day.

Extra Question: When people in your oikos are anxious how can your trust and confidence in the Lord affect them? What are some things that you need to do differently to show your oikos the confidence and trust you have in God?

10. How does Hezekiah’s response to the Babylonian envoys provide an example of what it means for you to continue to pursue trust and humility? How can you guard yourself against spiritual complacency during this time where we are unable to meet as the church on physical campuses?

In Isaiah we are not given the specific reasons why Hezekiah was so eager to show the Babylonians all the contents of the treasure. We do know that it led to a future conquest that sought to bring those treasures back to Babylon. It could be that Hezekiah was flattered that someone traveled so far to hear about what the Lord had done and see him well. However, in 2 Chronicles 32:24ff we see that Hezekiah had become prideful after the Lord healed him from the sickness. The Lord allowed him to be tested when the Babylonians came to see about the miraculous sign of the sun going backwards. It was in this test that the pride of his heart was revealed as he tried to impress foreign powers with what the Lord had given him, rather than revealing the nature of a miraculous God that healed him. In Isaiah0 this chapter serves as a transition in the book to provide an answer to why the Babylonian captivity was going to happen in 586 B.C. Pride leads to sin, and sin leads to destruction. Thankfully the Lord provided a way to be saved through Jesus.

11. When thinking through the how we are interacting with people through digital platforms during this pandemic, how can you be an example of devotion and trusting God to the watching world? What are some things that would give reason for people to be skeptical of your trust in the LORD?

One of the things to talk through as a group is that if you are at all involved in social media, then the watching world is much bigger than you think. With the way things are shared and liked, the reach of some of the things we post goes far beyond our 8 to 15, for better OR for worse. Think about ways this perspective might have a direct effect on what you communicate.