Understanding the Power and the Promises of the Prophets

Understanding the Power and the Promises of the Prophets Week 4: Promise of Restoration; The Power of the Holy Spirit; The Power of God for Salvation

Our main scripture for day 1 is Isaiah 9:1-7 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing. As they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, And the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder- Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever ,Prince of peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this! The Lord has sent word against Jacob, it falls upon Israel.”

Day 1 questions 1 - The people who walked in darkness could be talking about the Isrealites of the time who were under great persecution by King Ahaz. At first glance you may think it is talking about his son, Hezekisah. Hezekiah was a fair, merciful king. But since the scripture describes someone who sustains peace by judgment and justice, both now and forever it could not be King Hezekiah. It must be talking about the Messiah. Even though question 1’s answer is the Isrealites we can expand that to all people because of our broken relationship with God.

Question 2 & 3 The prophecy given by Jacob to his sons, Naphtali and Zebulun, was the promise of the beautiful land that we read about. The land bears the sons names. These cities were the first to fall to the Assyrians and the Babylonians. They are the first places that Jesus goes when he starts his ministry. He reclaims them, so to speak, for God. Fulfilling Isaiah’s prophesy.

Question 4 A. Beloved Son B. Wonderful Counselor C. Mighty God D. Everlasting Father E. God our Father F. Prince of Peace

Day 2. Isaiah 11:1-5 But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding. A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide. But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s affected. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Question 1: King David’s father

Question 2: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse and from his roots a bud shall blossom. A stump appears dead, but there is still a remnant of life within it. Hope for the future. This represents the remnant of Jacob – Israel from which King David will emerge and much later the Messiah – Jesus.

Question 3 The Spirit of the Lord or the Holy Spirit. This was fulfilled when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordon.

Question 4 Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, & fear of the Lord are listed in Isaiah. Fear of the Lord is mentioned twice & the Church recognizes one of them to be what we call Piety. Giving us 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1 Question 5 Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay, but he will judge the poor with justice.

Question 6 Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

To the Heart Question A Ask the Father for the Holy Spirit and then receive it when he gives it. Repent and be baptized and you will receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. At our Baptism we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

While the prophecy of Isaiah pertains specifically to the Messiah, the Tradition of the Church is that these gifts are extended to all of the faithful through the sacraments of Baptism and especially Confirmation (CCC #1303)

Day 3. Isaiah 12:2-6 God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation and say on that day: Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name. Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievements: let this be known throughout all the earth. Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

Question 1 God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are my salvation and the source of living water.

Question 2 First believe Jesus is who he says he is. Then we go to him or ask to receive, and then receive the Holy Spirit, who will dwell within us. From the beginning God’s desire has been to dwell with his people. Now because of Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and ascension we can receive the Holy Spirit. We can invite the Spirit of the Living God to dwell within us. We can ask that the Holy Spirit, given to us at Baptism and confirmed at Confirmation, awaken within us. We need to surrender to the Holy Spirit. We need to give the Holy Spirit permission to operate fully in our lives.

Question 3 With joy drink in the Holy Spirit. Acclaim the name of the Lord among the nations. Share what He has done in your life and throughout history. Proclaim that his name is worthy to be exalted. Sing praises to the Lord. Shout with happiness and joy that Holy Spirit dwells within us and among us.

Question 4 We receive power and authority in the name of Jesus. Satan, the accuser, is cast out. Satan must flee when we praise God. Satan is conquered by the blood of the Lamb-Jesus-and by our testimony. Glorifying God gives us resolve even to the point of death.

Question 5 Jesus our Messiah has the keys to the kingdom which includes both the physical world and the spiritual world. Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah & the root of David, is the only one worthy to open the scroll. Jesus is pictured as having 7 horns which represents perfect power and having 7 eyes which represents fullness of knowledge. Only the one who was slain and by his blood purchased a way back to the Father for all people is worthy to open the scroll. Only the Lamb has the right to carry out the divine plan of God which the scroll represents.

B & C of our heart questions talks about doors. In Isaiah 22:22 “I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open..” The key represents authority. This authority belongs to Jesus. Then we remember that Jesus gives that key of authority to Peter in Matt 16:19. He gives Peter the key because Jesus knew he was going to ascend and just like how the King in the OT, would give the key of authority to the prime minister in the king’s absents. John 10:9 “I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” A gate is like a door. Those who come for salvation to God, through Christ, shall obtain it: he shall be saved -

2 he shall have his sins blotted out, his soul purified, and will be preserved unto eternal life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Go in and out - This phrase, points out all the actions of our life, and the freedom we have of acting, or not acting. A good shepherd leads his flock to the fields where good food is found; watches over them while there, and brings them back again and secures them in the fold. He keeps the sheep safe. So the one who is taught and called by God feeds the flock of Christ with truth which nourish them unto eternal life. God blesses both the shepherd and the sheep, so that going out and coming in they find God’s goodness: every occurrence is made useful; and all things work together for their good. We are sheep and sometimes we are shepherds. That was in our study week 2. We have the responsibility to help each other or shepherd each other to heaven. In God’s goodness he has given us each other. We are called to live in a community. We are accountable ultimately to God but also to each other. This is helpful when it comes to recognizing a door opening or closing.

I think it is easier to talk about doors that God has opened for us than doors that he has closed. New doors are usually exciting. Sometimes a door must close before he opens a door. That takes faith on our part. Many times we don’t recognize the blessing of a door closing until much later. A door closing can be a painful experience. It may require a letting go, it may require courage or it may require a different perspective. Sometimes we have to walk away and we don’t really want to. We can try to keep our foot in the door to keep it open or we can try to pry a door open that we want opened. The best things we can do is trust the Lord. It isn’t always easy to know that a door is opening or closing. Prayer is always a requirement. Good council can be helpful. Having an understanding of God’s character is important because God can not contradict himself. Having a community of believers praying for us is extremely powerful. This requires us to be vulnerable. This requires us to share our burdens or hardships or struggles. Being vulnerable is also required in true friendship. Friendships founded in Christ are amazing. Please close your eyes for a moment. Is there anything that you are struggling with? Is there a hardship in your life? Do you have a burden? Is there any situation that you are wondering if it is a door opening or a door closing? Lord Jesus, we ask that you reveal to us the answer to those questions. Help us be real with each other. Help us to hold each other in love and care in the way that you hold each one of us. Amen

Open your eyes. We are going to take a few minutes to journal about whatever popped into your mind. Usually the first thing that came to us is what the Lord wants us to look at. It could be something you haven’t even thought of before. The Lord may be asking you to look at that. Now I invite you to look over what you wrote and try to come up with one word or 2 that would represent your burden, struggle, situation, or hardship. After you have that word, you can write it on the cross that your facilitator will be passing out after my instructions. The goal is that everyone in your small group will have a cross with everyone’s one word on it. Then you will take these home and pray for each other.

It is a beautiful thing that we don’t have to make this journey alone. We have each other to help us on the way.

Here are the links to the videos that I showed at study:

Names of God: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLclDO0DFfuRYSRDFkKRjG0usy8Q0wDs1t

Gifts of the Holy Spirit: https://youtu.be/ano0RG_2Psg?list=PLclDO0DFfuRYSRDFkKRjG0usy8Q0wDs1t

Share the struggle:

3 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=V0LeBYkhH6o&list=PLclDO0DFfuRYSRDFkKRjG0usy8Q0wDs1t&index=3