Called By Name: God's Promise of Redeeming Presence

Isaiah 43 answers the big questions of identity, belonging, and purpose by turning God’s people away from looking within and toward looking to God. The questions, “Who am I? Where do I fit? What difference can I make?” sit right on top of Israel’s exile. Isaiah speaks to people who likely felt defeated, worthless, out of place, and afraid after generations away from home. God meets those questions by telling them who he is and what he has done.

Isaiah 43 begins with God piling up personal covenant words. God created Jacob, formed Israel, redeemed his people, called them by name, and said, “You are mine.” The passage does not leave identity floating around inside the human heart. God names his people. God knows them personally, and God also puts his own name on them. The image is like the name on the front of a jersey. God’s people are not just carrying their own private name. God’s name is on them, and they represent him in the world.

The text also makes the command clear: “Fear not.” God does not promise that the waters, rivers, fire, and flame will never come. God promises, “I will be with you.” The difference between being overwhelmed and being carried through is the presence of God himself. Isaiah points to a God who is not abstract or far away, but near, personal, and faithful to his own people.

Isaiah 43 then opens into a courtroom kind of scene where the nations and idols are gathered. God asks who can declare the former things and prove what is true. The answer is that no idol can stand beside Yahweh. God says, “I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.” Israel is called to be his witness because God alone declares, saves, and acts in a way no one can turn back.

The chapter also reaches back to the exodus. Waters, Egypt, wilderness, and rivers in the desert all point to God making a way for his people again. Babylon will fall, empires will shuffle, but God will not give up on his covenant love. Still, Isaiah refuses to pretend Israel earned that rescue. God says, “You have burdened me with your sins,” and then says, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.” Redemption rests on who God is.

Jesus brings the full shape of that redemption into view. In Christ, God with us, the new exodus becomes deliverance from sin and death. Ephesians says redemption comes “through his blood,” according to the riches of grace. God’s people are created for his glory, called by his name, redeemed at a high price, and invited to see themselves the way God sees them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God names what culture cannot Culture often tells people to look deep within for identity, belonging, and purpose, but Isaiah 43 sends those questions in a different direction. God’s people do not discover their deepest self by digging harder into the self. God tells them who they are by saying, “I have called you by name. You are mine.” [51:44]
• 2. Fear not means God is near Isaiah’s command not to fear is not based on easy circumstances or a life without trouble. The waters still come, the rivers still rise, and the fire is still real. The promise is that God will be with his people in the middle of it, and his presence becomes the difference between being consumed and being carried through. [72:00]
• 3. God’s name rests on his people Isaiah 43 holds together two beautiful truths: God knows his people by name, and God calls them by his name. That means his people are personally known, not lost in the crowd, and also publicly marked as belonging to him. The name on the front of the jersey matters, because life is not finally played for private glory. [60:23]
• 4. Redemption starts in God’s character Isaiah does not say Israel is rescued because Israel finally became impressive. God says his people burdened him with sins and wearied him with iniquities. Then God grounds forgiveness in himself: “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,” which means redemption is anchored in the goodness, name, and covenant faithfulness of God. [68:20]
• 5. Jesus completes the new exodus Isaiah’s language of waters, wilderness, rescue, and return points beyond Babylon toward the greater redemption found in Christ. Jesus purchases freedom not with Egypt, Cush, or Seba, but with his own blood. The new exodus brings people out of slavery to sin and death and into forgiveness, belonging, and life under the name above every name.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:24] - Isaiah 43 Opening Promise
• [49:49] - Youth’s Three Big Questions
• [52:37] - Israel’s Exile And Hope
• [54:06] - God Speaks In Isaiah 43
• [55:47] - Created, Called, Redeemed
• [56:18] - Reading Scripture Carefully
• [58:47] - Fear Not In Exile
• [60:01] - Called By Name
• [62:00] - God’s Name Upon His People
• [63:13] - Witnesses To The True God
• [65:20] - A New Exodus Promise
• [67:39] - Rescue Not Earned
• [69:18] - Redemption For God’s Sake
• [73:39] - Jesus Purchases Freedom

Bible Reading

Isaiah 43:1-7
“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 are 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.’” [46:45] [54:34] [01:10:56]

Ephesians 1:7-10
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” [01:13:39]

Numbers 6:22-27
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.’” [01:02:00]

Observation questions

1. In Isaiah 43:1-7, what actions does God say he has done or will do for his people? Which of those verbs stand out most in the passage? [54:06]
2. What images of trouble or danger appear in Isaiah 43:1-7, and what does God actually promise in the middle of those dangers? [01:12:00]
3. In Isaiah 43:1 and verse 7, what two name-related statements are made about God’s people, and how are they different from each other? [01:00:23]
4. In Numbers 6:22-27, what blessings are spoken over Israel, and what does the final line say happens when God puts his name on his people? [01:02:42]

Interpretation questions

1. Isaiah 43 answers questions of identity by pointing first to who God is rather than to what people feel about themselves. Why does that matter so much for people who feel defeated, out of place, or afraid? [58:47]
2. God says, “Fear not,” but he does not say the waters and fire will never come. What does that show about the kind of comfort God gives, and how is that different from the kind of comfort people usually want? [01:12:03]
3. God says both “I have called you by name” and “everyone who is called by my name.” How do those two truths shape both personal belonging and public witness? [01:01:45]
4. Isaiah 43 says forgiveness is given “for my own sake,” and Ephesians 1 says redemption comes through Christ’s blood according to the riches of grace. What do those passages show about where salvation really begins? [01:08:55]

Application questions

1. When questions like “Who am I?”, “Where do I fit?”, or “What difference can I make?” start pressing in, where does the group member usually look first for answers—inside the self, to other people, or to God? What would it look like this week to let God’s word answer those questions first? [51:44]
2. God’s promise is not the absence of deep waters but his presence in them. What is one “water” or “fire” in life right now where there is a need to remember, “I will be with you”? [46:45]
3. God calls his people by name and also puts his name on them. Where is there a temptation to live mostly for the name on the back of the jersey rather than the name on the front? In what setting would it look different to represent God more clearly? [01:00:40]
4. God tells his people, “You are mine.” Is that truth easy or hard to receive personally right now? What tends to compete with that sense of belonging—shame, loneliness, performance, fear, or something else? [01:00:01]
5. God says, “I created you for my glory.” What parts of daily life most often feel disconnected from that purpose? How might ordinary work, family life, or friendships become places to declare his praise? [01:12:27]
6. Redemption is not earned by finally becoming impressive. Where is there a tendency to think God will love or accept a person more once they clean themselves up? How does “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake” confront that mindset? [01:07:39]
7. Jesus brings the greater exodus by freeing people from slavery to sin and death. Where has Christ’s redemption become familiar or easy to overlook? What would it look like to live this week as someone who has truly been bought at a high price? [01:14:08]