1. "I learned really quickly what everyone else already knew: cheap jewelry masquerading as real jewelry is still cheap jewelry."

2. "Counterfeits promise cheap comfort and the illusion of control. We choose to binge watch TV over rest, scrolling instead of Scripture, envy instead of encouragement, selfishness instead of self-control, or revenge instead of reconciliation."

3. "The only way to recognize a counterfeit is to see the genuine article clearly. The only way for God's people to know that they've chosen cheap comfort and false control is to experience true comfort from the only God, their Savior. The only way to recognize that they've never been in control is to clearly see the one who's always been in control, God, their King."

4. "Worth, value and beauty are not determined by some innate quality, but by the length to which the owner would go to possess them. And broken and ugly things just like us are stamped ‘mine’ by the only One who can create, who can redeem, who can call."

5. "If God has redeemed us, if God is with us, is there anything we can fear? For those of us in Christ, we know that we will not be crushed. For those of us in Christ, is there anything in all of creation that can sever our Savior's presence?"

6. "Preeminence means superior. It means above all, over all, surpassing all, to the point that nothing and no one else can even come close. That's who our God is."

7. "I freed you from a physical slavery, but now I'll free you from the slavery of sin and death. In Egypt, you escaped death by brushing the blood of lambs on your doorpost. But now you will escape the eternal death by the blood of the spotless lamb, Jesus Christ, the last sacrifice you'll ever need for your sins."

8. "When the ritual becomes more important than the truth to which they're pointing, no true worship happens."

9. "We all have a very long list of sins. And do you know what's happened to every single one of them? Blotted out, forgotten because he has chosen to not remember them."

10. "God's grace doesn't make sense. The moment his grace makes sense, that's the moment we stop seeing it as a gift. That's the moment we've lost sight of just how holy and righteous God is and how sinful we are."

Observation Questions

1. In Isaiah 43:1, what four things does God say He has done for Jacob/Israel, and what command and assurance does He give them in light of this?
2. According to Isaiah 43:2, what images does God use to describe the trials His people will face, and what does He promise about His presence and their protection in those moments?
3. In Isaiah 43:4–7, what reasons does God give for His love and valuation of His people, and what does He promise to do with their “sons” and “daughters” scattered across the earth?
4. Looking at Isaiah 43:10–13, what claims does God make about Himself in relation to other gods and saviors, and what does He say about His ability to act and not be opposed?
5. In Isaiah 43:16–21, how does God describe what He has done in the past, and what “new thing” does He say He is doing now in the wilderness and desert?
6. In Isaiah 43:22–28, how are the people relating to God in their worship and sacrifices, and what two contrasting things does God say He will do regarding their sins (vv. 25, 28)?

Interpretation Questions

1. How does the transition from judgment in Isaiah 42:25 to “But now” in Isaiah 43:1 help us understand the nature of God’s grace toward a disobedient people?
2. What does it mean for God to say, “I have called you by name, you are mine” (v. 1), and how does this shape a believer’s identity and security, especially in relation to the command, “Fear not”?
3. Why is it significant that God insists, “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me… besides me there is no savior” (vv. 10–11), and how does this confront the idea of spiritual “counterfeits”?
4. How does the command, “Remember not the former things” (v. 18), together with the promise of a “new thing” (v. 19), connect the first Exodus from Egypt with the greater salvation the sermon said is fulfilled in Christ?
5. How can God both announce judgment and “utter destruction” (v. 28) and yet say, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake” (v. 25)? What does this tension reveal about His holiness, justice, patience, and mercy?

Application Questions

1. Where are you personally most tempted to trust “counterfeits” for comfort or control (entertainment, busyness, comparison, resentment, etc.), and how do God’s promises in Isaiah 43:1–4 speak into those specific patterns?
2. Think of a current “water” or “fire” circumstance in your life (v. 2): what would it look like this week to face that situation as someone who believes, “I am with you” (vv. 2, 5), rather than as someone ruled by fear?
3. In what ways might your worship—Sunday gatherings, prayer, Bible reading—have started to feel more like weary ritual (vv. 22–24) than calling on God from the heart, and what concrete step could you take to seek Him honestly again?
4. Since God calls His people “my witnesses” (v. 10), what is one specific relationship or context (family, work, neighborhood, online) where you could more intentionally testify this week that the Lord alone is your Savior and King?
5. The sermon highlighted the role of the church in reminding us of God’s promises; who could you invite into your fears, doubts, or struggles this week, and what conversation or request for prayer will you actually initiate?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Exodus 14:10–31 — The original Exodus through the Red Sea shows God making “a way in the sea,” which Isaiah 43 recalls as a pattern for His future rescue and the greater salvation in Christ.
2. Isaiah 29:13–14 — God rebukes empty, lip-only worship and promises to act in surprising ways, paralleling Isaiah 43’s critique of weary ritual and His “new thing.”
3. 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 — Paul describes believers as a “new creation” and reconciled to God through Christ, echoing Isaiah 43’s promise of a new work of salvation and a gathered people who declare His praise.
4. Ephesians 1:3–10 — This passage celebrates God’s choosing, redeeming, and forgiving His people in Christ “for the praise of His glory,” aligning with Isaiah 43’s themes of redemption, calling by name, and God acting for His own sake.
5. Romans 8:31–39 — Paul proclaims that nothing can separate believers from God’s love in Christ, reinforcing Isaiah 43’s assurance, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you… you are mine,” even amid trials.

Sermon Main Topics

I. Counterfeits Promise Cheap Comfort But Always Come Up Empty

II. God's Promises Are Invaluable (Isaiah 43:1-7)

III. God's Preeminence Is Incomparable (Isaiah 43:8-13)

IV. God's Provision Is Intentional (Isaiah 43:14-21)

V. God's Patience Is Immeasurable (Isaiah 43:22-28)

VI. Confidence Comes From Knowing What Is Authentic

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Detailed Sermon Outline

Have you ever bought a knockoff, a fake, a counterfeit? Maybe you didn't know it wasn't real, or it looked real enough. Maybe it was that Coach bag on the streets of New York, or that Rolex watch where the R looked a little too much like a B.

Or maybe it was that diamond ring you wanted to buy for your sixth-grade crush. It's 1994. I'm 12. We didn't have the internet. I had no concept of real life.

The only TV shows I'd watched up until that point in my life were DuckTales and Lassie. Now all of a sudden I felt the pressure to demonstrate my love and commitment before Christmas break to the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, Bobby Jean. Where do you go in Georgia in the 90s to buy high quality merchandise at low, low prices? Walmart. It was there that I saw an exquisite ring for the unbeatable price of 1999.

It was just enough money that I had. The next day during class change, my love was publicly known by the whole middle school. I was getting high fives in the hallway by eighth graders. I was the man.

Until we came back from Christmas break, and I found out the ring turned her finger green.

I learned really quickly what everyone else already knew. Cheap jewelry masquerading as real jewelry.

Is still cheap jewelry. So I lied. I told them I spent triple the price, which is still too low of a price for a ring. I wasn't great at math. I kept lying until they stopped asking.

It looks like the real thing, it's close enough, no one will know. There's no authentication by a trusted source.

Counterfeits promise cheap comfort and the illusion of control.

We can see the exchange in our own lives. We choose to binge-watch TV over rest. Scrolling instead of Scripture. Envy instead of encouragement. Selfishness instead of self-control.

Or revenge instead of reconciliation. Counterfeits offer empty promises. It looks like the real thing, it's close enough, no one will know. Until the leather strap breaks, or the Jordan symbol peels off, or the green stain shows up on your finger.

Counterfeits always come up empty. They always over promise and under deliver.

They enslave us to a perception of reality that's simply not true. When we choose counterfeits, there will be disastrous consequences. Broken friendships, a crumbling marriage, enslavement to sin, and if you're Israel, exile in Babylon. God's been confronting His people through the prophet Isaiah to turn from their idols, those counterfeit gods in chapter 6 through 39. He's warning them of his coming judgment to wake them up from their sin.

And then starting in chapter 40, God gives a message of comfort that his people will need when they're in exile. He reminds them who he is, who they are, what he's going to do. Last week, God showed his people the signs of his servants coming that he'll bring to bring justice. God guaranteed his servants coming by pointing to his own power. And then the chapter ends with God reminding his people that they're still deaf and blind, seeing but not observing, listening but not hearing.

So he'll hand them over to the Babylonians for their sin, their choice to not walk with God, to not obey his laws. Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 43. That's page 603 in the Red Pew Bible. As we hear God's words to His people that are walking in disobedience. But now, thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you, because you were precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you. I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you.

I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth.

Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. Bring out the people who are blind yet have eyes, who are deaf yet have ears. All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right and let them hear and say it is true.

You are my witnesses. Declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you.

And you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and I am God. And henceforth I am he. There is none who can deliver from my hand, I work, and who can turn it back. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans and the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior, they lie down, they cannot rise. They are extinguished, quenched like a wick. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I'm doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! you! have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense; you have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But yout have burdened me with youh sins.

You have wearied me with youh iniquities. I, I am he who blots out yout transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance. Let us argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be proved right.

Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.

Therefore, I will profane the princes of the sanctuary and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.

What do God's people need to hear and believe in their exile? The answer is found in verses 3:11-13, verse 3, I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Look at verse 11, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. Verse 15, I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. The only way to recognize a counterfeit is to see the genuine article clearly.

The only way for God's people to know that they've chosen cheap comfort and false control is to experience true comfort from the only God, their Savior.

The only way to recognize that they've never been in control is to clearly see the one who's always been in control, God their King.

To help God's people hear and believe this truth, God's going to give his people four attributes that will help them see him more clearly. That's going to be the four points this morning. Number one, God's promises are invaluable. This is verses 1 through 7. God's promises are invaluable.

Number two, God's preeminence is incomparable. Verses 8 through 13, God's preeminence is incomparable.

Verses 8 through 13. Number three, God's provision is intentional. It's verses 14 through 21. God's provision is intentional. The last one, number four, God's patience is immeasurable.

Verses 22 through 28.

Even though these words are written to Israel as comfort for their future exile in Babylon, there's a word for us today. Although we aren't in exile, we aren't home yet. For God's people we know that this world is not our home. And for those of us that are in Christ, one day we'll be gathered and taken up to heaven to be with God our only Savior and King. Until that day, we need to hear and believe that God is our only Savior and King.

So number one, God's promises are invaluable. It's gonna be the first seven verses. How can God's people know that God is their only Savior and King? He proves this through His invaluable promises. Look at that last verse in chapter 42.

So he poured out on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle. It set him on fire all around, but he did not understand.

He did not. It burned him up. He did not take it to heart. Israel is still blind and deaf and experiencing God's discipline for their sin. And chapter 43 begins with two words as an abrupt transition, but now.

We move from the problem to God's remedy. This chapter doesn't start because of something that's changed with God's people. It starts with God's grace. What do God's people need to hear and believe? That His promises are invaluable.

God's telling his people that what matters most is not what they deserve, but who he is and who they are in light of that reality. In these first seven verses, God's gonna give us four promises and one command. The first promise is he knows his people. This is in verse one. Does God know of his people or does he know his people?

Look at the verbs in verse 1. Created, formed, redeemed, called by name. He then repeats it in verse 7 again. Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

Because he has done those things, the result for his people in verse 1 is that they are his. The words created, formed, redeemed in that original language, it expresses this intimacy, this care. This intentionality, similar to the way that a potter would make something out of clay, or the way that someone adopts somebody in need, like a kinsman redeemer.

Psalm 39 describes it as God knitting someone together in their mother's womb.

God's concern for us today is the same concern that God had for his people back then.

We take this reality of His calling and forming too lightly. We give much more weight to the opinions of others who are incapable to do any of those things. Worth, value, and beauty are not determined by some innate quality, but by the length for which the owner would go to possess them. And broken and ugly things just like us are stamped mine.

By the only one who can create, who can redeem, who can call. Promise number two, He will protect his people. This is in verse 2. There's a dramatic shift from chapter 42:25 where God tells his people they're going to be under his fire. And then in 43:2, God is promising his fire will not burn them.

Look at verse 2. God's telling his people that they'll pass through water, They'll walk through fire, but he will protect them with his presence. In the Old Testament, fire and water represent judgment. God's telling his people that through the same means by which he's disciplining them, he will not leave them and he will protect them. The fire will not destroy you.

It's only going to expose what's behind the walls. The water won't drown you. It's only going to reveal the cracks in your foundation. Only God can say this far and no further. He knows His people.

He will protect His people. And number three, He loves His people. This is going to be in verse four. Why does God love His people? Because they're precious in His eyes and honored.

Not because of anything they've done, but because they're his. We're secured in God's love because it has nothing to do with us. God's chosen to place worth and value on his people for no other reason than that he wants to. And that should lead to humility, not entitlement. Spurgeon describes it this way, I'm quite sure that if If God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him.

And I'm sure glad He chose me before I was born or else He never would have chosen me afterwards. I could never find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.

One last promise. Number four.

He'll gather his people. This is going to be in verses three, five and six. First in verse three, God sees no price as being too high for the redemption of his people. He's given up other people in order to save his people. God will go to great lengths to pay the ransom to bring his people home.

Verses five and six, God says that he'll gather people, his people from all four corners of the earth. Now for the people in exile, this is a promise that He's going to bring them back to bring them from Babylon, and He did. But Isaiah looks forward even still. It's a promise that's pointing to the day when all of His people who confess Jesus Christ as Lord will be with Him forever. Because God has paid the ultimate price in His Son, Jesus Christ.

So what do we do with these promises?

God gives us a command. God knows His people. God will protect His people. God loves His people. God will gather His people.

Why do God's people need to hear and believe these promises? Because He commands them not to fear.

Verse 1, Fear not, for I have redeemed you. Verse 5, Fear not, for I am with you. If God has redeemed us, if God is with us, is there anything we can fear? For those of us in Christ, we know that we will not be crushed. For those of us in Christ, is there anything in all of creation that can sever our Savior's presence?

The moment we find that command, don't be afraid unnecessary, that's the moment we forget how prone we are by nature to fear and distrust His promises and presence. Don't fear in the exile, I know you. Don't fear when the water and fire comes because I will protect you. Don't fear when you feel that your worth is wavering in my eyes.

Because I love you. Don't fear that I'll forget about you because I will gather you. I am the Lord your God. I am your savior. I am your king.

What do you fear today?

How can these promises help you when you're tempted to despair? Overcome with anxiety or worry? When you feel unlovable, when you feel forgotten, when you're treading water and gasping for breath, or when the fiery pain from trials pierce your heart.

That's when God's promises are most valuable. That's when His people are most necessary. That's us, the church. To remind each other that God is our Savior and King and that He's preeminent. Point number two, God's preeminence is incomparable.

This is verses 8 through 13, God's preeminence is incomparable.

What do God's people need to hear and believe? That He's preeminent. That's a great word, but what does it mean? Preeminence means superior. It means above all, over all, surpassing all, to the point that nothing and no one else can even come close.

That's who our God is. In verses 8 through 13, Isaiah brings us back to the courtroom. Only this time, God puts himself on trial. He wants to show His people that His preeminence is incomparable. Now, God's just made ridiculous claims.

He loves an exiled people. He'll redeem and deliver them. He'll gather people from every corner of the earth. He's called Himself the Creator, the one who spoke and the formless earth was sculpted. He's the one who produced populations and constellations.

With authority, He's orchestrated organisms in every single cell in mankind. I heard someone say it this way, He alone has infinite wisdom that's intrinsic within Him. He alone is self-sufficient. All of history begins and ends with His decisions. Who will declare this?

Who can point to their flawless record of perfection, power, and preeminence. Bring in all the witnesses.

And at this point, it's embarrassing.

No one will stand up and testify that God is their Savior.

No one will stand up and declare that He's the one true God. They can't. They're unable to. Look at verse 8. It says that his witnesses are the people who were blind and deaf.

They have the capacity to see and hear, but they're unable to. So God Himself must testify to these things. Verse 9, God looks to the nations. They can come on in as well. Let them bring their own witnesses.

But it's a setup. There's not one who can stand up and proclaim anything contrary to what God himself has said and done, like a crime captured on camera, there's no way out of it.

Why does God put himself on trial? Look at verse 10. That God's people may know and believe me and understand that I am he.

Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared, I saved, I proclaimed. God sets the record straight. He proceeds from none and is succeeded from none, existing from the beginning without superior or inferior there is only one God.

Not only is He preeminent, but look at verse 11. He's the only Savior, the only one who can offer salvation. Who else has done that? Has there ever been a God who's done that? Who else is capable of such a thing?

The witnesses sit in silence. God answers his own question. He steps into his rightful role as judge to give the verdict. In verse 13, I am he. There is none who can deliver from my hand, I work, and who can turn it back.

He's making the incomprehensible claim of supreme sovereignty. He is before all things and after all things. You cannot take things from his hand. Once he does something, it's final, like a letter that's been signed, sealed, and delivered. God puts himself on trial, questions the witnesses, and answers for them because they are unable to answer.

God's people still need to know that he's above all things and it's incomparable. It's not a debate using opinions. It's not the conversation about your top five movies. Is it Jordan or Kobe or LeBron? It's not about who's going to win the election.

The courtroom trial is void of all opinions. It's only facts and they're stacked in God's favor. Have we really come to this point where God's Israel's only savior and king must put himself on trial and gather the nations because Israel's still too blind to see the truth. Look at verse 12.

God's people are supposed to be His witnesses. The reason why God created, redeemed, called, and loved is so that we can be His witnesses. Look back up at verse 7. It's for His glory.

So we can live lives that proclaim He alone is our all-sufficient Savior and King. The only one whose promises are invaluable, the one whose preeminence is incomparable, and the one whose provision is intentional. When we truly know, believe, and understand, we'll live lives that testify to that reality. Number three, God's provision is intentional. This is verses 14 through 21.

God's going to shift his focus away from the people's refusal to see what he's done, and he points to the future of what he will do. In verses 14 through 21, God begins to describe a new exodus. He describes a promise in verses 14 and 15, and then he describes the pattern in 16 through 21. First 14 and 15, he promises a deliverance from Babylon. Verse 14, For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives.

And that promise is rooted in God's character as the Lord, the Creator and King in verse 15.

In verses 16 through 21 describe His sovereignty over the natural order, how He's delivered His people in the past. He uses the language in 16 and 17 that bring to mind what He did in Egypt. He made a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters. Who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior? They lie down, they cannot rise.

Isaiah is also showing that no power will hinder God from delivering His people.

The sea that lay between them could not prevent God from bringing out His people.

He divided its waters and drowned their enemies. How could the exodus from Babylon be greater than the exodus from Egypt? When Israel was released from Babylon, there was only about 40,000 of them. And they walked down a dusty road from the east back to Jerusalem.

I'm sure for those in exile, that probably felt pretty huge. But how could that be greater than parting the Red Sea or the bringing back of several million people? In verse 18, God's telling us that this thing He's doing will be something that will cause the previous exodus to shrink in memory. Verses 19-21, He says, I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. I'll even cause the wild animals, the jackals, the ostriches to honor Me.

And I'll give drink to my chosen people so they can declare my praise. So God's people returning to Jerusalem is only a shadow of a far more glorious journey home. It's a glimpse of the salvation worked out among the nations by Christ and bringing them to our Father. No national liberation will solve the basic problem standing between God and man.

Forget the former things, don't dwell on the past. See, I'm doing a new thing. The exodus is what God has done, and this new exodus is what God will do and what God has done through Jesus Christ. What is the new thing? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

Listen to this language from Isaiah: the old has passed away, behold the new has come. All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to Himself. He is our Redeemer. Christ has paid the ransom freeing us from sin and slavery. In Egypt I freed you from a physical slavery.

But now I'll free you from the slavery of sin and death. In Egypt, you escaped death by brushing the blood of lambs on your doorpost. But now you will escape the eternal death by the blood of the spotless lamb, Jesus Christ. The last sacrifice you'll ever need for your sins. I led you out of Egypt to the promised land, but you wandered because of your sin and disobedience.

But now I'll lead you to a new home in heaven and your sin and disobedience won't cause you to wander. I've taken care of that by sending Jesus to the cross. I fed you with manna on your journey to the Promised Land. But now you have the bread of life and living water, Jesus Christ. You'll never hunger and thirst again.

This is the provision that's intentional. This is the provision that was sovereignly planned before time. Through Christ we're finally able to be saved from sin and death. If you're not a Christian, this is God's word for you today.

If you confess your sins and trust in Christ for salvation, you become part of His people. He wants to redeem you. He wants to set you free from sin and death. And now His promises are for you.

Now you will know His preeminence. Now you will experience His provision. And now through the grace of Christ you can experience His patience. And you can join the rest of his people and declare his praise as our only God and Savior and King.

Last point.

God's patience is immeasurable. This is verses 22 through 28. God's patience is immeasurable. There's a bit of a whiplash here as we go from God's deliverance to now, God's people not calling on him. God's deliverance is not because his people deserve it.

It's because God's patience is immeasurable. The light's dim. God's people are hit with an interrogation room spotlight, exposing their motives in worship. God lays out the evidence. Look at verse 22.

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob. But you have been weary of me, O Israel. God's people have not called on him in prayer. They've become weary of God. Their call to worship had become cultic.

You know, just showing up at 10 a.m. on Sundays, not really thinking about it.

Going through the motions, not satisfying God. And that word weary here that's used, Isaiah is using it to imply that the people had felt enslaved by their practices of their sacrifices.

You ever felt that before? Enslaved by all the things that you feel like are required from you to be a Christian? Their eyes are glossed over, their minds are numb, their hearts dull as they've become so focused on the rules and regulations. It's a similar accusation God brings against His people in Isaiah 29:14. Jesus brings it up later in the Gospels against the religious leaders.

These people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips. While their hearts are far from me and their fear of me, it's a commandment taught by men.

God's people can't even be bothered to ask God for help. They're too busy offering sacrifices. They've forgotten why they offer sacrifices in the first place. God commands these acts, but without true engagement of heart and mind, it's just charades.

This is why their sacrifices don't honor God. When the ritual becomes more important than the truth to which they're pointing, no true worship happens. These sacrifices are meant to bring relief to God's people.

From the burden of sin. God's laid out the evidence. Now He calls them in verse 26 to put forth their case. Let's argue this. I'll be honest, but they can't.

Their sin's inexcusable. Look at verse 27. There's never been a time when the nation was innocent. Israel can't self-justify. As far back as your first father, whether that's Adam, Abraham, or Jacob, you've been guilty of sin.

Even their priests, the ones who were supposed to be the very mediators between God and man, are guilty.

What's their punishment? Look at verse 28, utter destruction. Sin has been woven through Israel's family tree, and God would soon be handing his people over in judgment. But God's final word for his chosen people is not judgment, it's grace. Forgiveness arises not from what we deserve, but from something deep inside of God himself.

Look at verse 25. This is maybe the most shocking verse in the chapter. I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Does that verse make any sense to you? It shouldn't.

That verse should not make sense to you. Why would God blot out our transgressions? Why would he choose not to remember our sins?

That's the beauty of the gospel. It's a mystery. This is the good news that we have in Jesus Christ. We all have a very long list of sins. And do you know what's happened to every single one of them?

Blotted out. Forgotten. Because He has chosen to not remember. Remember them, blotted out because of his grace. Even when we weary him with empty worship, even when we fail to see and hear him, isn't God's patience so immeasurable?

God's grace doesn't make sense. The moment his grace makes sense, That's the moment we stop seeing it as a gift. That's the moment we've lost sight of just how holy and righteous God is and how sinful we are. That's when our faith will be empty with hollow practices.

But at times we've all lost sight of His immeasurable patience towards us.

God sent Christ for our sake to meet our needs. But he also sent Jesus for his sake to reveal his glory and grace. Ephesians 1:7 says that in Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. Why did he choose to adopt us, to redeem us, to ransom us, to forgive us, so that we can be the praise of his glorious grace for an eternity. God saved us through Christ so that we can be seated with him in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

If you're not a Christian, That invitation is for you today. God wants to blot out your sins. God wants to forgive you. He wants to forget them. He wants to cast them as far as the east is from the west.

The guilt and shame you're experiencing, He wants to take that from you. We only have to call out to Him to save us.

Turn from your sins and trust in Christ for salvation. And you can spend the rest of your life experiencing the immeasurable patience and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

Fast forward 11 years from 1994 to 2005. I'm sitting outside of a real jewelry store this time. Isn't that crazy? If you're in sixth grade 11 years later, you could be getting married. That's wild.

I'm sorry if I put that on anybody this morning. This time I've done my homework. I've got the words written down that I need to know. Men out there, you could probably say these with me. Cut, clarity, color, and carat.

Those four words will give any man confidence as he's about to buy an engagement ring. This time I'm not buying a ring for my crush.

I'm buying it for the woman I'm about to ask to be my bride.

No counterfeit diamond here. It's been 19 years and her finger still hasn't turned green.

What did I need to hear walking into that store? That what I was placing my confidence in was real. It had been tested and authenticated.

This wasn't a cheap substitute.

What four words give you confidence today?

Is it promises, preeminence, provision, patience?

If you've repented and believed in Christ for salvation, then you're His. You're precious in His eyes and loved.

Are you struggling to believe that today?

Are there areas in your life where you find it difficult to believe in God's promises? Are you crippled by fear?

Do you feel like you're going through the motions?

Bring it to God. He knows you. He formed you. He made you. He wants to prove His faithfulness and goodness to you.

He wants to sweep away those cheap substitutes out from underneath you because you're His.

We all have seasons where we need help believing His promises.

That's why we have the church.

We need the encouragement to see His preeminent presence in our lives.

If that's you today, talk to somebody.

I know that when I'm in those seasons, I have a hard time seeing God's grace in my own life. And I need people to remind me of the grace they see in my life.

The Lord will use people to help you see Him more clearly. If you're new, if you don't know anyone, talk to somebody standing out the door. We'd love to pray for you, encourage you.

He is the God of all hope and will fill us with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope.

His promises are invaluable. His preeminence is incomparable. His provision is intentional. And His patience is immeasurable. Let's pray.

Father, we need your help. Lift up our eyes to see your riches as the all-sufficient King.

You are the Holy One, our Savior.

For those who are struggling, Father, give them courage to share that burden with someone else. Help us through the church, your Word, and your Spirit to hear and believe your promises. Your preeminence, your provision, and your patience. We ask that you would be our God of hope today, that you would fill us with all joy and peace and believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope while we wait for that day when you will gather us, your people, to be with you. In Jesus' name, amen.