Where Are We Going?

Discipleship Group Questions for December 5, 2004

Scripture:

Isaiah 11:1-10

1. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4. but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

6. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples - of him shall the nations (the gentiles) inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious." Amen and Amen!

Questions for Reflection:

1. Discuss together how you envision Paradise – that place that we who are Christians will inherit one of these days.

2. Read verses 6 through 10 of Isaiah chapter 10 and reflect on how similar your picture of Paradise is to the one described in these verses.

3. What does this Isaiah vision of Paradise tell you about our God?

4. Advent is a time for deep reflection not only on our Lord's first coming but also upon His final coming when all of this will be transformed into it's most perfect image and God will restore us to His Paradise - a place of infinite peace! This will be the time when the devastation of the Fall will be reversed and Eden will be reestablished upon the earth! Please make no mistake, this time is coming. All of history has been heading towards this point from the very beginning. Is this ultimate eventuality an exciting prospect for you or not. Please discuss this in the context of how this realization could stimulate our evangelistic efforts.

5. Are we all heading towards Paradise? The fact is that many of us aren't! Many of us have decided that this - what we have here on earth - is it and that we're going to do whatever it takes to find Paradise right here and now! But our Lord tells us that for these people whatever they find on earth that approximates Paradise pales in comparison to the real thing and that what they're ultimately heading towards is the quintessential opposite of Paradise - what they're heading towards is in fact - Hell. Now there's a happy Advent thought! When this thought remains a "theological musing" it's relatively benign, but when it becomes real - when a person is standing at the edge of this life and is looking into the lake of fire or into Paradise it's a very very different issue isn't it? Now God is calling you and me to remember the Paradise that awaits us at the end of all of this, but He's also reminding us by inference what awaits those who don't believe - who don't know Him - who haven't experienced His love and don't have a vision for His Paradise! Hell or Paradise! Make no mistake Jesus Himself was very very explicit about Hell! – Please discuss.

6. Please close with prayer and ask our Lord to anoint you with His compassion for the lost and that you may be used to rescue people from hell so that they may be drawn into heaven – Amen and Amen!