7/7 Life Group

*7/7/2023* Young Adult Life Group guide
 
I the LORD will Answer
(ISAIAH 41:17-29)
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Life-Sharing

1. What has God been teaching you through last week’s message? Read the texts once more and discern what the holy Spirit is desiring to say through it.

 

 
17 When the poor and needy seek water,
    and there is none,
    and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
    and the dry land springs of water.
 

1. [v.17-18] God’s future exiled people at the hands of the wicked Babylonians would undergo extreme suffering – they would even lack their basic needs for water and food. When they reach the point of thirsting and seeking for water, what does the LORD promise?
2. *The biblical principle – Like our thirst for water with a parched tongue, we must learn to seek and thirst after the LORD to know His answer. His answer will be unexpected, abundant, and transforming. How is the LORD keeping you in a state of being thirsty and needy to seek after Him? What areas of life are we remaining in plenty while refusing to be needy? What does God have in store – what kind of blessings await – for you when you stay thirsty for Him?

 

 
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
    the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
    may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel has created it.
 

1. [v.19-20] Alongside providing water to quench their thirst, God will plant seven different trees to grow alongside each other to provide shade for His people. Why will He do this?
2. *The biblical principle – His answer will be a shade and shelter for us to consider that only the hand of the LORD accomplished and created it. How have you known an answer from the LORD that was undeniably from the work of His hand alone? How has God’s answers been a shade and shelter for you?

 

 
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them, and tell us
    what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
    that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
    or declare to us the things to come.
23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,
    that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
    that we may be dismayed and terrified.
24 Behold, you are nothing,
    and your work is less than nothing;
    an abomination is he who chooses you.
 

1. [v.21-24] The LORD now moves to confront the idol world, demanding that they come into His courtroom and prove themselves to be god. What were these idols utterly unable to do, making them “less than nothing”?
2. *The biblical principle – One main difference between an answer from God and an answer from an idol is in the ability to speak – idols cannot talk nor tell of former/future things like God. If idols cannot talk, how are we creating their speech in our minds with our own desires in the flesh that lead us away from the LORD? If only God can tell of the former and future things in your life, what present things do you need to release to His control? How does that bring you His peace over doubt/fear?

 

 
25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
    from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
    as the potter treads clay.
26 Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
    and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
    none who heard your words.
27 I was the first to say to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
    and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
28 But when I look, there is no one;
    among these there is no counselor
    who, when I ask, gives an answer.
29 Behold, they are all a delusion;
    their works are nothing;
    their metal images are empty wind.
 
 

1. [v.25-29] As the only God who controls the future, the LORD would raise up from the north King Cyrus of Persia to deliver His exiled people from the hand of the Babylonians. This would not happen for another hundred years, yet the LORD declared it so that all might say what?
2. *The biblical principle – Only the answer from God is right as He controls the beginning, middle, and end of all history. How has God proved Himself right every time with His answers in your life? How have we been proved wrong, and how has that been a blessing instead of a curse?

 

 
The central truth of this word was – In life, we all wait for an answer – to a prayer request, for a future decision, etc. Are we seeking the answer from the LORD? God has already given us every answer in Jesus Christ. He is the answer – all His promises are answered as “yes and amen” for those who abide in His words. Learn to seek and thirst after His words over alternative answers. Only His Hand can be Your answer, as He grips you to trust in what He has promised. Only He has ability to speak, and what He says is always right.
  – *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 

 
Holy Spirit Moment
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray.
 
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)