Isaiah 1:1-4
ICE BREAKER
Have you been in a situation where there was a fork in the road and you knew God wanted you to choose a path but the other path is what you strongly wanted to follow?
This happens to us more than we are aware of. It can be as simple as going to church or dating someone you know in your heart is not a good choice or having that extra drink.
Share with the group an example from your own life.
The battle in these stories is whether we believe we are satisfied in Christ and what He provides or that we are satisfied through whatever we decide. How we worship is how we make all decisions.
Another way of speaking of this is through the lense of our worship. True worship is satisfying. With true worship we bring Him into every area of our life rather than sequestering Him to certain parts of our lives.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Read the notes section below for the 4 styles of worship and then ask yourself the question, “What is the posture of my worship? What is it like each day and is it evident in every area of my life?”
- Reflect on your lifes’ journey. Think about an event or a season of your life where Christ changed the direction of your life toward Him(when He changed your style of worship). Share your story. As you reflect together on these stories, take some time to thank HIm for His pursuit of you.
- Isaiah 7:9b says, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” In essence He says that your worship is your whole life! This is a tremendous truth we can stake our life on! As a group, discover how many ways you cultivate your firm faith. This is a great time to learn from one another and to be encouraged by one another.
- The High Priest tried to stop Uzziah from dishonoring the Lord. Uzziah replied with rage and immediately he broke out with leprosy. When our efforts in life are blocked and we get angry it often reveals our pride. Reflect on what typically makes you angry in a given week. What is your anger saying about your pride? Reflect on the first 10 verses of James 4 and listen to God’s heart nudge us away from pride toward dependency on Him. Note the beautiful invitation in James 4:5-6 “The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”
NOTES AND QUOTES
The book of Isaiah can be viewed through the lense of 4 kings: Uzziah, Jothan, Asahz, and Hezekiah.
The 4 kings have this in common: they are in the line of David and each one of these kings has to deal with the enemy Assyria.
What is different for each king? The answer is their worship.
How we worship is how we make all decisions.
Uzziah:
Pride marks the style of his worship.
In II Chronicles 26:4-6 Uzziah is introduced to us. Under Uzziah Judah grew in strength.
One day he made the decision to go and offer incense to the Lord in the temple. Only the men from the tribe of Levi who are approved for priesthood can offer incense to the Lord in the temple. Uzziah is from the tribe of David not the tribe of Levi.
The High Priest tries to stop him. Uzziah replies with rage(pride) and immediately he breaks out with leprosy. He had leprosy the rest of his life. When we are blocked in our plans and get angry it is nearly always revealing our pride.
Jotham:
Private worship is Jotham’s style of worship.
II Chronicles 27:2,6
Jotham did great things in private but he did not fulfill his role as king to publicly influence the nation. The nation continued to worship false gods.
Ahaz:
“Pretending” marks the style of his worship.
He did what was evil in the eyes of God.
He put idols inside of the temple. He gave himself over to idolatry to the degree that he sacrificed his own son to one of the gods. Yet later he pretends to honor God by quoting the scriptures.
Pekah from the north land of Israel asks Ahaz to join him in attacking Assyria. Ahaz says no and therefore Pekah attacks Judah. While this is happening Isaiah is prophesying to the nation.
(Note: RC Sproul has great sermons on Isaiah 6 and you can go online to find them.)
In Isaiah 7:4 Isaiah says to Ahaz not to be afraid of Pekah and Assyria. God tells him to trust Him.
“Do not call conspiracy all that these people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But fear the LORD of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” Isaiah 8:12-13
Hezekiah
His worship is passionate.
It is both private and public.
II Chron 29:2 says, “…and he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.” He also cleanses the temple and he purifies the priesthood.
He reimplements the celebration of the passover.
Hezekiah obeys the message from Isaiah. Why? Because his worship was sincere.
Hezekiah reads the threatening letter from Assyria. He then presents the letter before the Lord.
Then he prays:
“Oh Lord, the God of Israel….You alone, of all the kingdoms, …open Your eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear the word of Sennachherib….So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”
He, in his helplessness, turns to the Lord.
