Infinite Worth March 29, 2026

Well, good morning, Fellowship. Say good morning to the chapel and those who are joining us online across central Arkansas and around the country and even around the world. We're glad that you're here with us this morning. If we haven't had a chance to meet yet, my name is Brandon Bernard. I'm one of the teaching pastors here at Fellowship, and we love to remind those who are with us maybe that are new that we're one church in multiple locations across central Arkansas. God's working in this place called Fellowship, and we're so thankful for that. So it means a lot that if you're a guest that you would join us on this Sunday morning, whether it's online or here in person, we want to say thanks for being here with us this morning. If you have a Bible today, I want you to go to Isaiah chapter 61. Isaiah chapter 61. If you don't have a copy of God's word, either on your phone or in person like in a real thing like the Bible like this, we can show you on the screen here in just a few moments this beautiful passage. It's in Isaiah 61. We have been in this series for the last few weeks. We talk about God's infinite worth. God's infinite worth. And so we're going to continue to dive into that. And as we think about that, I do want to pray over us this morning, but I also want to encourage you. You know, when we gather as a church, when we gather here on a Sunday morning, we're doing it to give praise and glory to God. We're doing it to strengthen one another in the faith, right? You realize that. Sometimes it's good to remind yourself why you come on a Sunday morning, like why we gather as the church so that we can praise God so that we can encourage one another. We can strengthen one another so that we can sit under the teaching of God's word, that

we can sing the word of God to God and to one another in the midst of being together. It's so strengthening for us. And so I want to encourage you to just be here this morning and for God's presence to encourage you. We do have prayer guides for those who are here with us in person this morning. Encourage you to grab one of these, it kind of gives you four things to pray for through the month of April. And so I want to encourage you, if you haven't had a chance to do this yet this year, we've been doing this every month. Some of you are like, we have? We have been, we've been doing it every month. And so we want to encourage you to take one of these and pray, it'll encourage you and strengthen you and help you pray for the church and pray for our city, pray for our country and nation and pray for the world. And so I want to encourage you to grab one of those. And I also want you to think about Easter this weekend, Easter is coming up. And I want to encourage you, think about coming Saturday night. And one of the reasons I would encourage you to do that is because we want to open up seats for as many people as possible. I know it may surprise you, but for some people, they come to church maybe once, two, three times a year, and Easter is one of those times. And so we want to make some spaces available at 9am, 11am on Sunday morning. And so if you would consider coming and saying, you know what, I'm going to come on Saturday night, worship with my family, Jesus is still going to raise from the grave, right? He's been raised, he's risen, right? So we're going to do it on Saturday night and Sunday morning. So I want to encourage you to come and join us on Saturday, if you can, make space for people that will join us on Sunday as well. Let's pray together and ask God to strengthen us this morning. Father God, thank you so much.

Thank you for giving us life and breath today. God, thank you for creating us in our mother's womb. We're fearfully and wonderfully made, and I just pray that our souls would know it extremely well today. God, I love that you know the condition of every heart that's listening today. I love that you know exactly what we need. I love that you know us better than we know ourselves. God, I love that you can speak beyond just my words. God, that you can speak to us through your word and through the power of your Holy Spirit. So God, I'm asking you this morning to meet us here in this place, to pour out your spirit upon us, to help us to see the beauty of who you are and what a glorious God you are and what your mission was and is and will be. So Lord, I just pray that for those who are weary this morning, God, that you would strengthen their hearts and you, I pray for those who are excited about things that are happening in their life right now, God, that you would just keep them grounded in you and see you as the giver of all good gifts. Lord, I do pray for those that are serving our special needs friends this morning, would you strengthen them and help them? We are so thankful for their influence on us, and we just pray, God, that you would show them your grace and your love today, and we pray for those that are serving our kids. this morning, would you strengthen them, give them creativity and energy, and just help them to tell the kids about you, Jesus, that they would be able to encourage their hearts this morning. Lord, we pray for Pulaski County in particular, Lord, this morning, because we know there's many people who are hurting, people that have physical needs, more importantly, people who have spiritual needs,

and we just pray that you would come and let your spirit fall upon Pulaski County in a very powerful way where people might repent and believe and trust in you. God, we love you so much, and we thank you for your truth. Would you speak to us now through the power of your word, by the power of your Holy Spirit, it's in Christ's name we pray, amen, amen. So we've been saying throughout this series the definition of God's glory, and I wanna just remind you that it is the public display of his infinite worth. That God's glory is the public display of his infinite worth, his holiness on display, if you will, that he is infinitely worthy, that there is no one higher, no one greater, no one stronger, no one mightier, no one more powerful than God. And he puts his glory on display, evidently and powerfully in Jesus Christ, for sure. And as we come to this passage this morning, it's so appropriate because today is Palm Sunday in the church calendar. This is the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy. This is the day that people were waving palm branches, and honestly, we're not fully sure the condition of every person's heart that was waving a palm branch. They were saying, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.

And so they were saying, Lord, save us. And we do believe that people were recognizing Jesus as the son of David, as the Messiah. And yet many people wanted Jesus to save them from Roman oppression. That's what they wanted. They were excited, and then when they realized that's really not the reason he came, that's kind of when they turned on him in a lot of ways, and they're like, man, he didn't really come to do what we thought he came to do. But they're waving palm branches, and they're saying, save us. And even with Jesus right in front of them, there were many people who missed who he really was. And the same happens today. And you and I need to understand that to not see God as glorious as he is, to not see his glory, to not see him for who he really is, is actually sin. It's sin to not see him who he is. And Jesus came riding in on a donkey. Such a powerful day. Many of you know this. That was the day that families selected a lamb as they were heading into the week of Passover. They were selecting a perfect lamb, and they were gonna kind of examine that lamb for the next few days. And then the lamb would be slaughtered. And in that moment, Jesus is riding in Jerusalem,

and God is saying, here's my lamb. This is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. It's a very powerful day. And Jesus continued to speak that week of the reason he came, the mission to restore and save the lost. That's where it takes us to this passage today because we're reminded of the mission of Christ. In Isaiah 61, we're reminded of the promise of Christ, our future in Christ, our reward in Christ, our hope in Christ. His truth is the blanket to our soul. It's the fuel for our living, if you will. He's telling us the mission of the Messiah. So look with me in verse one of Isaiah 61. And here's what Isaiah writes. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion, to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit,

that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. And they shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations, they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks, foreigners shall be your plowmen and vine dressers, but you shall be called the priests of the Lord. They shall speak of you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame, there shall be a double portion. Instead of dishonor, they shall rejoice in their lot. Therefore, in their land, they shall possess a double portion. They shall have everlasting joy. For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully give them their recompense, their reward, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among nations, their descendants in the midst of the peoples, and all who see them shall acknowledge them that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with a robe of righteousness

as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. Now this is an incredibly powerful passage. And what's interesting about this passage is you may not recognize it from Isaiah, you might recognize it more from Jesus, from the book of Luke. Because the passage we read today is the very first passage that Jesus read from when he started his ministry. When Jesus stepped into the synagogue long ago, he was beginning and launching his ministry. Basically the first sermon that we have recorded of Jesus is not the sermon on the mount. The first sermon that we have recorded of Jesus when he's in the synagogue with the Jews, and he gets up to read from the prophet Isaiah. And he steps up to the podium, if you will, and they unroll the scroll, and he finds Isaiah 61. And I don't have it on you for the screen, in the screen for you, but listen to what it says in Luke chapter four. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. He had been in the wilderness. And a report about him went through

all the surrounding country, and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he was from, where he'd been brought up. Hometown boy returns, and he's in Nazareth, this small little village. And he's in the synagogue, as was his custom. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. So Jesus is in a very small synagogue with the people of the town who are gathered there. Jesus, the boy who grew up in front of their eyes. And he stands up, and he unrolls the scroll. And he finds the place where it's written in Isaiah 61. And he says this, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he stops right there. And he rolls the scroll back up, and he gives it back to the attendant, and he sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And this is what he said. He said, today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. This is Joseph's boy, the carpenter's son.

And he reads powerfully from this passage. And then he says to them, today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your presence. And here's what it says. And all spoke well of him, and they marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. They were like, wow. And someone said, is this Joseph's son? And then he goes on to say, Dallas, you'll quote to me this proverb. Physician, heal yourself. Well, we've heard you did a Capernaum. Do here in your hometown as well. And he said, truly, I say to you, no prophet's acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land. And Elijah was sent to none of them. He was sent to none of those widows there in Israel, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. He basically says, Elijah was sent not to an Israelite. He was sent to this woman in Sidon, this Gentile woman. And there were many lepers, he goes on, in Israel in the time of prophet Elisha, and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. He's like, there were a lot of lepers that needed healing, and God sent Elisha, not to all the ones in Israel

that needed healing, but to Naaman, the Syrian, right? The enemy, someone who's over there. And when they heard these words, everyone in the synagogue was filled with wrath. So they went from going, man, this guy's good, to we hate this guy. Jesus said, today, in your hearing, this scripture is fulfilled. Wow. And then he goes on to explain a few things, and they were filled with wrath. So when you see this passage in Isaiah 61, it is a passage of power. And it is speaking of God's restoration, because his glory is restoration. That's what he came to do. And so this morning, there are a few points that can be drawn from this passage, I think, that will encourage and challenge us and challenge our hearts. You know, I do want to kind of speak real quickly to this. It says in verse two and three, where he talks about to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our enemies. our God, and it's interesting because Jesus stopped short of the vengeance of our God, not because it wasn't going to happen, but because he wanted to focus on the year of the favor of the Lord. It's interesting because some of you may know this,

but when Isaiah is quoting this, when Jesus is quoting this, he's talking about something that's found in Leviticus chapter 25, where it talks about the year of Jubilee. And many of you are familiar with Sabbath, and it's one day where you rest, where God calls us to rest, that we are to keep the Sabbath. But many of you may or may not know, but one day in seven is Sabbath rest, but they also had something in Israel, one year in Sabbath was called the Sabbath year, one year in seven, and all debts were forgiven, and servants went free, and the land lay fallow for a whole year, and they used the crops that they had saved up. So in the Old Testament, basically there was a, every seventh year, there was a Sabbath year, where the land would lay fallow, servants were set free, debts were forgiven, it was a beautiful time, and God had kind of designed it for it to be a place for it to really kind of give a fresh start. Forgiveness for wrongs done,

and debts forgiven. But there was also something called the year of Jubilee, and that was basically every 49 years, it was seven of seven years. And to our knowledge, as far as we know, Israel never really observed it, they never were really obedient and following God's law in the midst of this. But the way God designed it was for the year of Jubilee, every seven of seven years, that 49th year, basically it was debts were forgiven, slaves were set free, but it even went even further than that. If you lost your family's original land in the last 50 years, it was returned to you. So if somehow through bad decisions or poor crops or something like that, you lost your land, if you somehow made it those 49 years, then the year of Jubilee, the way God designed it was for you to have your land given back to you. A biblical mandate, an institution designed to give spiritual rest and economic rest, and to kind of give a new start,

to bring joy and hope to those in need. So it was something that the Israelites knew about, but it wasn't something they really practiced. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? Some of you are in debt up your eyeballs. Some of you know people who experienced that kind of financial strain. Some of you know the fact that maybe they're enslaved to something. Can you imagine? You survived to the seventh of the seven years, the 49 years, and all of a sudden, your debts are free. All the debt that you owe, wiped away. Can you imagine the kind of joy that would bring in your life? The kind of hope that would bring in your life? That's why it's so powerful when Jesus says that, if you're in debt, you're free. If you're in debt, you're free. It's so powerful when Jesus says these words. He says, I came to claim the year of jubilee, like the year of the Lord's favor.

I'm here to bring hope. I'm here to set people free. I'm here to bring forgiveness. I'm here to bring joy. So this is all that Isaiah is pointing to in Isaiah 61. It's all that Jesus is referring to when he speaks of it in Luke chapter four. So this morning, as you look at your notes, let's talk about God's restoration. Let's talk about the things in this passage that we can hopefully take from today. Here's the first thing. God's restoration has come and it's coming. Like his restoration has come and it's coming. Some refer to this as already not yet. Like his kingdom has come, but his kingdom is coming as well. Jesus came once and he's coming again. And we celebrate both of those. We celebrate the fact that Jesus came once. And as we'll learn on Good Friday, as we celebrate and remember on Good Friday that Jesus came once and he died on the cross for our sins and God raised him from the dead. And because he defeated death, we can have life in him. And so he came once, but he also said, I'm coming again. So we recognize his restoration has come and it is coming.

John 11, 25 to 27, Jesus said to her, this was Mary and Martha, the sisters, but he says to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? And she said, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, watch this, who is coming into the world. He said, I'm the resurrection and life. And whoever believes in me shall never die, that you'll live forever with me. Do you believe this? And she said, yes, I believe this. You are the Christ, you are the son of God who is coming into the world. So restoration has come and his restoration is coming. Revelation 21, five, and he who was seated on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. Also, he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. At the very end of the Bible, in Revelation, Jesus comes back and says, listen, I'm making all things new. I'm restoring everything. So it's come and it's coming. coming. By the way, his restoration is coming in two ways. He's coming to make all things new, but he's also coming to judge.

There's a day of vengeance of our God. It's interesting that he says the year of jubilee and a day of vengeance. What he's saying is a year of jubilee, like God's spending plenty of time to give people hope. He's spending plenty of time to get the message out for people to believe and trust, but there is a day of vengeance that is coming. And so I want us to think about this. So restoration has come and is coming, and here's what we know. Everyone needs to be restored. Everyone needs to be restored. There's not anybody on this planet, young or old, who doesn't need to be restored. And even by saying that statement, even the fact that God's glory is restoration, it lets you and me know that something is broken. Listen, for something to be restored, it has to be broken. And so everyone needs to be restored. Romans 3.23 is a short but powerful verse, and we all know it, or maybe we don't all know it, but let me just, maybe you've heard it before. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So God's glory that we've been talking about for the last few weeks, his public display of his infinite worth, this glorious God that we serve and love, we know his glory's on display.

And the word of God says this. Every one of us have fallen short of his glory. Every one of us. We've all sinned. And so because of that reason, everyone needs to be destroyed. Jesus came to the broken. He came to the hurting. He came to the mourning. We're all ashes. We're made of dust, and we're gonna return to dust. I'll never forget probably the first time that I was a fellowship and went to the Ash Wednesday service and we had a pastor named David Bruins. Many of you know David. David was on staff with us for over 30 years, an unbelievable care pastor, a great man of God, still is a great man of God. Still love his influence in my life, and I'll never forget, he was the one I think that put the ashes on me first. And he put ashes on my forehead and he said to me, he put his hand on my shoulder and he said, Brandon, my brother, you're made of dust and to dust you shall return. And it was a humbling moment. I mean, I'm made of ashes and I'm gonna return to ashes. We're broken. That's why Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, he said, blessed are the poor.

That was the first one he started with. Blessed are the poor, the poor in spirit. And he wasn't talking about the economically poor, he was talking about those who are poor in spirit. In other words, he was saying the people that are gonna see me and know me and come to me, the people who are gonna experience my love and my salvation truly are the people who recognize they are poor in spirit, that they are broken, that they need to be restored. You know what the second one in the Sermon on the Mount is? Okay, I'm gonna tell you. Blessed are those who mourn. Right? Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Those who mourn over their sin, for those who recognize that they're a sinner and they need to be restored. When Jesus shares this truth in Luke four, he points to salvation for the Gentiles. When he talked about Elijah coming to this certain widow, when he talked about Elisha healing Naaman from Syria, when he says this, this is what made the people so furious because the Jews would not see themselves this way. They didn't think they needed a savior, so to speak. They rejected Jesus in the very words of the prophets. And Jesus said that when Israel rejected God, he made a way for the Gentiles. That's what made the people so mad on the day that Jesus said,

today this is fulfilled in your hearing. That's what made them so mad. They're like, are you kidding me? You're talking about Elijah helping this one widow that wasn't an Israelite and Elisha helping this one man who wasn't an Israelite and, it's because they didn't see themselves in that way. Which, by the way, leads me to that next point. Everyone needs to be restored, but not all will be restored. Not all will be restored. Now this is where we veer from a lot of people in our culture. This is where we veer from people who say, all roads lead to heaven. There are plenty of people who wanna just be nice and it's like, hey, let's all play in the same sandbox and let's just say that everyone's gonna get to God, man. You can serve Buddha, you can serve Muhammad, you can serve whoever you wanna serve and it's okay because you know what? Hey, in the end, let's just all pat each other on the back and it's all gonna be okay and we all kinda, it's the same God and we're all gonna be together. That's not what the scriptures teach. It's not. You say, man, you're gonna offend somebody. Well, I'm not. God's word's gonna offend somebody. Not all will be restored. That's why Jesus said to some people,

and by the way, he was saying it to religious people in that moment, he said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who goes to church, not everyone who says they know about Jesus, not everyone who finds themselves with some religious knowledge is going to be in the kingdom of heaven. He said, well, man, don't scare anybody. I'm not trying to scare anybody. I just wanna give the truth. And the truth is is that if we don't see our need for Christ and his grace to change our lives and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone, repent of our sins, turn from our sins, turn to Jesus, to Jesus Christ alone, if we don't do. Through that, we won't be saved. We will not be restored. Jesus makes it really, really clear. And many people don't see themselves this way. They don't see themselves in need of restoration. But God makes it clear in his word, Revelation 20, 11 through 15, that I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small,

standing before the throne and the books were opened. And then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in it. Do you see that? The sea gave up the dead. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. Everyone, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Again, not trying to scare anyone, but I'm just saying this, that God's word says not everyone's gonna be restored. If your name's not written in the Lamb's book of life. The Bible makes it clear. John describes in Revelation that there's a Lamb's book of life, that there's a book of life. Matter of fact, Jesus even spoke to us. He said, rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. For those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, our names are recorded in the Lamb's book of life. Matter of fact, if you,

I remember reading some things from Pastor Tim Keller and D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, and there were several guys that were talking even before they died. And what they said was, as they were approaching death, as they were getting close to dying, some of those guys had terminal illnesses and they knew that they were going to die. And as they were approaching it, that the verse that brought them the most comfort in those days was the verse that says this, rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. That's where the joy is found. That's the comfort for your soul. That's the fuel for living right now that your name's been written. And I'll just ask you this, has your name been written in the Lamb's book of life? Have you repented of your sins and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Do you really believe that he alone is the one who can save you, who can restore you? Do you really believe that you're broken in the need of a savior? And really for you to be able to see that, it's gonna be God's grace to you. And maybe this morning is the time for you. You know, on our bulletin at the very bottom, many of you know this,

but we have a place where you can kind of tear it off just like this. And there's a place for you to write your name. And today, if you say, man, I need to talk to a pastor about what it means to know Christ. You can fill that out. You can fold it like this and you can put it in the giving box. As you leave today, if you're online with us, you can scan the QR code. You can reach out to our team and someone will reach out to you. You can stop by our connection center today and have a conversation with one of our elders, one of our pastors about what it means to know Christ. You do not have to leave here today without knowing this truth. But you need to understand this, not everyone is gonna be restored because there are gonna be people who reject Jesus to the very end. So God's restoration is come and it's coming. It has come and it is coming. Let me move on to the second major point. God's restoration brings transformation through substitution. This was super powerful for me as I was studying this passage. God's restoration brings transformation

through substitution. I chose those two words for a reason. That God's restoration brings transformation, not just information, but transformation, like true change in the lives of people. That's why he goes on a little spiel here and he says that he brought good news to the poor. He brought healing to the brokenhearted. He brought freedom to the captive. He brought comfort to the mourning. He brought gladness to the oppressed. He brought honor to the shamed. Do you see that? When you work through this passage, you see all the ways that God worked and ultimately that Jesus brought transformation to all these people, to the poor, to the brokenhearted, to the captive, to the one who was mourning. God brings personal and social transformation, quite honestly, affecting individuals and cities and he's bringing unity and joy and freedom and comfort and so much more. I wish I had time to kind of go through this whole passage just kind of word by word, if you will, verse by verse, so to speak. Because when God's restoration comes, there's unity. Racism no longer exists. When God's kingdom and restoration comes, there is love for one another.

When God's kingdom and restoration comes, there is joy and gladness. When God's restoration and kingdom comes, there's not shame, there's honor. It's beautiful. It's so powerful. When God brings this to take place in our life, he brings transformation through substitution. I'm gonna get to that in just a second. Let me just say this. First, he transforms identity. He transforms identity. He sets us free and makes us righteous. So that's what you see in all the exchanging that's taken place in this passage. All the things that he's making new. Where it says he gives them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, he gives them the oil of gladness instead of mourning, he gives them the garment of praise instead of faint spirit. That they may be called oaks of righteousness. He's transforming who they are. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he transforms our identity. He declares us righteous. The beauty of the cross is that Jesus took our shame, he took our sin upon himself and he made us new. He robed us and clothed us in his righteousness. That's one of the things he says later on in Isaiah 61 when you get down towards the end.

He has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has covered me with a robe of righteousness. Here we are a sinner and he has now made us new. He's clothed us with his righteousness. He's given us a new identity. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 says, therefore if anyone's in Christ, he's a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come. He changes who we are. That's why the scriptures use the phrase born again. By the way, that's why there are people sometimes in the church who I believe if something doesn't change will miss heaven because their life is not filled with transformation. They've not been changed. They're still the same fundamentally of who they were before they met Jesus. But because of Jesus and what he did on the cross, he sets us free. That's what it says in John chapter eight, the truth, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth and the life. So when you know the truth, it means that you know Jesus. And when you know Jesus, he sets you free. Mentioned this before, but it's like a prisoner who's been set free, but still running around in their prison clothes. Listen, when Jesus declares us free, he gives us a new identity.

He transforms our identity. But he also does this, he transforms our actions. So it's not just our identity, it's our actions as well. He makes righteousness and praise come out of us. That's what he says. When he clothes us with a new garment of praise, with a garment of salvation, not only does he change our identity, we're in Christ. And by the way, I didn't spend so much, I wanna spend more time on that, your identity in Christ, because so many of you are finding your identity in your spouse, you're trying to find your identity in your work, you're trying to find your identity in money, you're trying to find your identity in status, you're trying to find your identity in what other people think about you, you're trying to find out your identity in maybe how the government works. So many people today try to find their identity in so many different things. And I kept thinking that it would get better when you get older, but I actually think it gets worse sometimes. The older you get, it's almost like you get disoriented and you forget where your identity is. You're trying to find your identity in all these things, but really our identity as believers is found in Jesus Christ. That's what transforms us. But then he transforms our actions too.

It's not just about being changed from the inside like who we are, it's also changing the way that we live. Ephesians 4, 17 to 24, now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles due to the futility of their minds. They're darkened in their understanding, alienated, separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that's in them due to the hardness of heart. They've become callous, they've given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that's not the way you learn Christ. Assuming that you've heard about him or taught him as truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self created at the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, Romans 12, they go on and tell us how to live, how to live a transformed life, that our actions, so it's not just changing who we are, it's also changing how we live. And by the way, this happens

because Jesus exchanged his life for ours. This is super important. Jesus exchanged his life for ours. Transformation. God's restoration brings transformation. How? Through substitution. The only reason that you and I can be transformed by the power of God is because of Jesus Christ, because of what he has done, because of what he did on the cross, because he conquered the grave. Jesus exchanged his life for ours. That's the beautiful thing. It says that he puts a beautiful headdress on instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. But what you cannot miss is this, it's transformation. and through substitution, Jesus takes our place. He doesn't just give us beauty for ashes. He became the ashes. Do you see that? That's what makes Jesus so amazing. Second Corinthians 5.21, for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The reason that you and I can have the oil of gladness, the reason that you and I can have our shame taken away

is because it was put on him. First Peter 2.24-25, he, talking about Jesus himself, bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. We'll hear about that on Friday. Come to our Good Friday service for you were straying like sheep but now have returned to the shepherd overseer of your souls. You think Peter had spent some time in Isaiah? By his wounds you've been healed. He bore our sins. Jesus exchanged his life for ours. Restoration brings transformation through substitution. And that's beautiful. Listen to a song recently called The Lamb's Book of Life. I love it. And the guy Brett Yonker who wrote it, he has this phrase that says this. Not by merit, not by might, but only by the blood of Christ. It's not by merit, it's not by might. It only happens by the blood of Christ that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I'd love to keep going, but I gotta wrap it up. So what's your response today? For all of us who are listening to this, what's our response? We hear this beautiful, powerful, maybe hard to understand in some ways,

but beautiful in some ways. And it's because of this passage that Isaiah speaks from the Lord and Jesus starts his ministry with. Let me tell you something. That's how important it was. Jesus started his ministry with it. He declared his mission from the get-go. This is why I came. To bring restoration, to restore the broken. So what is your response? Well, repent that you may be restored. Repent that you may be restored. If you've been so hard in your heart that you have rejected Jesus Christ, or maybe you thought, you know what? I'm not good enough for God's love. If you're thinking that you're not good enough for God's love, let me just tell you something. You're actually right. You're not, and neither am I, but he loves us anyway. That's the beauty of God's grace. And the response is this, repent that you may be restored. Acts 3, 19 through 21. Repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive

until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. That's literally what we're talking about today. Repent. Repentance means this. You're going this direction. You're going away from God, and you stop, and by God's grace, you turn around towards Jesus, towards the cross, towards the resurrection. You put all your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Today, you can repent of your sins and turn to Jesus, and we plead with you to do that. Second thing is this. Rejoice because you have been restored. Rejoice because you have been and you will be restored. There are many believers I'm looking at right now in the camera and all around this room. There are believers here. Listen, rejoice. Rejoice that God has exchanged your ashes for his beauty, that God has exchanged your shame for honor, that God has given you joy. He's transformed who you are and the way that you live. Rejoice in that. Rejoice that your name's been written in the Lamb's book of life. Rejoice that you have been restored and you're going to be restored.

Let that truth give you strength today and hope for tomorrow. Revelation 19, six through 10. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters. Some of you have been on the river. Some of you have been under the waterfall. It's a great sound. He says there was a great multitude like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out, hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. He's talking about the beauty of the bride. Oh man, I remember when those doors opened and my bride came walking down the aisle. Oh, I thought my brother was gonna have to catch me from passing out. She was so beautiful, so beautiful. That's why Jesus uses this illustration, the bride of Christ, because he's made us beautiful because of not because of us, but because of him. And by the way, we're invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Who loves a good wedding?

I do. And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God. Then I fell down on his feet to worship him, but he said, you must not do that. I'm a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Listen, we've been invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And I'm gonna tell you this right now, I'm going to be there. I hope you are too. It's gonna be beautiful. Here's the last thing, proclaim so that others may be restored. Look, repent. If you haven't been restored, repent so that you may be. If you have been restored, rejoice that he's restored you and you will be restored. And for those of you who are believers, proclaim the good news so that others may be restored. Proclaim the good news so that others may be restored. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

You and I as believers need to be sharing that message with others. Who are you inviting to Easter this weekend? I said, oh man, I don't think they're gonna come to church with me. Okay, are you gonna invite them over for dinner? Well, we're having family over. Okay, well, just add one more. Who are you inviting? Who are you looking to share the good news with? Because if your name's been written in the Lamb's book of life, if you realize the reason that Jesus came, your heart is so full that you wanna share that with those who do not know that truth. God's restoration is glory. He's given us beauty for ashes. He's adorned us like a handsome bridegroom and a beautiful bride. His restoration truly is glorious. Let's pray together. Father God, thank you so much for your love to us. Jesus, thank you that you came to bring good news to the poor. Because I was poor. And Jesus, thank you that you, that you came to set the captives free. Because I was enslaved to my sin. Jesus, thank you that you came to exchange my shame for honor. Jesus, thank you that you are the God

who turns graves into gardens. That you restore and change and make new. Would you do that today in our hearts? Would you do that for our good and for your glory? It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks again for listening to the word of God. We are blessed to reach you throughout the week. We are blessed to reach you throughout the week through whatever platform you're listening on. If you're needing prayer or you want to talk to someone about your walk with Jesus, reach out to us at fellowshipar.com slash contact. Have a great week.