I Am The Lord

There Is No Other

Discipleship Group Questions

for October 16, 2005

 

Scripture Readings:

 

Is. 44:24-45:6   “This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,  25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,  26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be built,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’  27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’  28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.” ’

Is. 45:1 “This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

Is. 45:4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.  5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,  6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

 

Psa. 96:1-10  Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Psa. 96:3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.  4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.  5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

Psa. 96:7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.  8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.  9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.  10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

 

Matt. 22:15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.  16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.  17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?  19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.   They brought him a denarius,  20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

 

Discipleship Questions:

 

  1. If the Lord Jesus were to come and stand right beside you right now what words would you like most to hear from Him?  Think of one or two sentences that you would really love to hear Him say.  Please reflect together upon this.
  2. Now what I hear Him telling me in this sentence is that He is in fact capable of arranging everything in my world so that I really have nothing at all to worry about!  How would you like to live your daily life knowing that fact deep down in your inner being?  Would it change the way you live your life?
  3. Please read the verses from Isaiah and focus in on verse 28 where God referrs to Cyrus as his “Shepherd.”  Cyrus was an unbeliever and had just captured Babylonia.  God used this unbeliever and even called him his “anointed” and “”Shepherd.”  What does this tell you about God?
  4. The key message of these verses in Isaiah is  Isa 45: 5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other. . . It’s all about God’s sovereignty.”  Please reflect upon this fundamental and foundational reality!
  5. Now it’s important that we understand something here – Cyrus is a non-believer.  He’s the king of Persia and has just conquered the Babylonians who have held the population of Jerusalem hostage in their capitol city of Babylonia.  God is telling us in these verses that He, God, will use a non-believer, whom He calls “His anointed” – “His shepherd” to liberate the Israelites and return them to their home – Jerusalem!  Bottom line – what does this tell us? 
  6. God is in charge of history!   Think about that!  God is God – He’s in charge of all of His creation!  Now what does that mean to you and me?
  7. Please read the gospel reading and focus in on verse 21,  “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”   This is a truly brilliant response because what Jesus is in effect saying is “give it all to God!”  Why – please discuss.
  8. I want all of us to think of a difficult event in our lives – it could be in the past, or in the present of perhaps there’s one looming in the future.  If it was in the past – can you now see that God was in it working brilliantly and sovereignly to bring good out of it?  And finally, if it’s happening now or in the future Jesus is telling us - “Don’t worry – I’m with you always and I control everything  including even those who don’t believe in me – even your enemies!  Do you believe this? – please discuss.