INTRODUCTION
Good morning.
There are moments in life when the real question is not “Does God exist?”
The real question is “Do I still belong to Him?”
We don’t usually lose faith all at once.
We lose it slowly—through disappointment, failure, exile, silence.
Isaiah 43 is written to people who believe their best days are behind them.
They are not rebellious.
They are not atheists.
They are tired believers.
They’ve been uprooted.
Their city is gone.
Their worship has been disrupted.
Their future feels unclear.
And into that moment God does not begin with correction.
He begins with identity.
Isaiah 43 answers one question:
Who are you when everything familiar has been taken away?
MOVEMENT I
“YOU BELONG TO ME” (Isaiah 43:1–7)
“But now—this is what the LORD says—
the One who created you, Jacob,
and the One who formed you, Israel—
‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are Mine.’”
Notice how personal this is.
God stacks verbs before He gives commands:
• Created
• Formed
• Redeemed
• Named
Before Israel does anything right, or wrong,
God reminds them of who they are to Him.
Redemption here is family language.
The Hebrew word means kinsman-redeemer;
the nearest relative who steps in when you cannot save yourself.
God is saying:
“I stepped in because you are family.”
And then He says something staggering:
“I have called you by name.”
Babylon tried to rename them.
Empires always do.
Daniel became Belteshazzar.
Hananiah became Shadrach.
Mishael became Meshach.
Azariah became Abednego.
Babylon could change their names on paper;
but it could not change the name God spoke over them.
Then God says:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.”
God does not say if.
He says when.
Faith is not the absence of danger.
Faith is the presence of God in danger.
Some of us are praying for God to remove the water;
and God is promising to meet us in it.
Some of us are asking God to put out the fire;
and God is saying, “You won’t be consumed.”
Then comes this line:
“You are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you.”
That is not sentiment.
That is covenant.
And the reason is stated clearly:
“Everyone who is called by my name…
whom I created for my glory.”
Your life is not random.
Your story is not wasted.
Your identity is anchored in God’s purpose.
TRANSITION ILLUSTRATION: BAPTISM
When Israel heard “the waters”, they thought of the Red Sea.
They went in as slaves.
They came out as God’s people.
That’s why the early church understood baptism this way:
• Passing through water
• Leaving an old master
• Rising into a new name
Isaiah 43 is baptismal theology before baptism existed.
Some of us passed through water years ago;
and later passed through fire.
And we wondered:
“Did I miss God?”
No.
Fire doesn’t cancel identity.
Fire refines it.
MOVEMENT II
“I ALONE AM GOD” (Isaiah 43:8–13)
Now the scene shifts.
God summons a courtroom.
“Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes,
and deaf, yet have ears.”
Israel, the broken, exiled people,
are called as God’s witnesses.
That sounds strange.
But God says:
“You are my witnesses…
so that you may know and believe Me.”
Here is the declaration:
“Before Me no god was formed,
and there will be none after Me.”
This is not philosophy.
This is salvation history.
God defines Himself not by theory; but by action:
“I alone am the LORD,
and besides Me there is no Savior.”
And then:
“I act, and who can reverse it?”
Babylon looked permanent.
But permanence belongs only to God.
Illustration: The Unexpected Witness
Calling Israel as God’s witness
is like calling a healed patient to testify about a doctor.
The credibility is not in the witness.
It’s in the One who healed them.
Some of you think your story disqualifies you.
God says:
“Your survival is Exhibit A.”
Grace leaves evidence.
MOVEMENT III
“I AM DOING SOMETHING NEW” (Isaiah 43:14–21)
Now God names Babylon.
He doesn’t ignore the pain.
He reframes it.
“Do not remember the former things…
Look, I am about to do something new.”
God is not dismissing the Exodus.
He is refusing to be limited by it.
If God only repeated the past,
Israel would still be standing at the Red Sea.
Now He says:
• Highways in the wilderness
• Rivers in the desert
• Creation responding to redemption
This is new creation language.
And ultimately, it points forward.
Jesus steps into the wilderness.
Jesus passes through water.
Jesus walks into fire.
The cross becomes the final passageway.
“The people I formed for Myself
will declare My praise.”
MOVEMENT IV
“GRACE THAT OUTRUNS FAILURE” (Isaiah 43:22–28)
Now comes the hard word.
“But you have not called on Me, Jacob…”
Israel didn’t stop believing.
They stopped praying.
This is not rebellion.
It’s relational fatigue.
In family systems, unspoken anxiety turns into silence.
Silence turns into distance.
Distance strains love.
Israel grew weary of God;
and God names it.
But then comes the gospel before the Gospel:
“I—I am the one
who wipes out your transgressions
for My own sake.”
Forgiveness is grounded in God’s character;
not Israel’s performance.
Grace does not wait for perfection.
Grace creates the space for return.
CONCLUSION
“YOU ARE STILL MINE”
Exile is not the end.
Failure is not final.
Fire does not get the last word.
God’s name is still at stake;
and that’s good news for us.
Stop letting circumstances rename you.
Stop arguing with God about your worth.
Hear the word that precedes everything else:
“You are Mine.”
RESPONSE / ALTAR INVITATION
If you feel:
• Renamed by failure
• Worn down by silence
• Afraid of the water or fire ahead
Come, not to earn grace,
but to stand again in who you are.
