By Evangelist Sophia Jeffrie
Isaiah 61:1- 4 NKJV “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To [b]console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Here the Prophet Isaiah was delivering this prophetic message to God’s people about the future regarding the coming Messiah. This message was full of hope and promises for the future amid their hopeless situations. And just like in Isaiah’s day when he was inspired by God to write this message it is still relevant to us today. You see during, these past 9 months we have been chartering unconventional waters and many of us may feel like we are being overtaken by the currents of life. You go from one situation to another situation to some form of issue to another issue to another problem and it seems like it’s never-ending. Maybe you know someone that’s feeling overwhelmed or full of anxiety. Or could that someone be You? If that’s the case, then you’re in the right place at the right time to allow God to connect with you during this time of need. How many of you on the line need to connect with God so that you can experience Him? Know, that God loves you and that you are not alone because He here for you. But in order to experience God’s presence and to receive these promises Isaiah is speaking of an Exchange must occur. You see the word Exchange is defined as the act of giving one thing and receiving another in return. The Divine Exchange is what happens when a Divine being connects with a human being and a spiritual transfer is made during the process. So, when Jesus makes a connection with a human being and they are open to receive all that God has for them the Divine Exchange can take place. This is what Isaiah had prophesied about in these scriptures and I would like to share some insights with you on the results of The Divine Exchange when you connect with Jesus!
1. When you connect with Jesus, The Divine Exchange causes you to receive your salvation for His command and purpose! We get our purpose in life when we receive Christ Jesus. The A part of Verse 1 says, “1“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor;” Isaiah was speaking about Jesus Christ and what He was about to do for mankind! He was sent to save the world and to tell everyone that He encountered the same. But this just didn’t stop with Jesus, He gave us this command and purpose as well. So, first we are to get saved and then tell someone else the Good News of Who saved us! Here when Jesus is speaking of the “poor” He isn’t necessarily speaking of financial; He is speaking spiritually poor as well! There are plenty of wealthy financial people that are poor in Spirit because they are without Christ! Matthew 28:19-20 tells us this and it says, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” So, we are to be witnesses of the goodness of the Lord in our lives. So, not only did He tell us to go, but He also told us what to say once we got there. Isaiah 49:8-9 tells us such. “ 8 This is what the Lord says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation, I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again. 9 I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare. The beauty of this passage is that it has all the phases of the Godhead was at work and manifested to bring about God’s will. God the Father- Lord God, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were all at work and to will and to do His good pleasure. So, just as Jesus was anointed to do God’s will, so does God fill us with His Holy Spirit when we receive His gift of salvation. Through this Divine Exchange, we give Him our bodies and He will give us His Spirit! For some God anointed and calls them to carry out certain functions to do His commands and to fulfill His purposes in the earth, again it’s a Divine Exchange that takes place when we Unite Jesus!
So my question for you is have you shared the Good News of Christ to anyone lately?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The B part of this verse shows us another result of the Divine Exchange when we unite with Christ, He will take our brokenness and give us His healing and deliverance! God’s Love Conquered the works of the devil in our lives. The B part says, “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” God wants to mend our broken hearts and everywhere we hurt if we let Him! He wants to set us free physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well! God loves us too much to want anything to separate us from Him because that’s what the enemy tries to do in our brokenness and when we are in bondage! Matthew 11:5 speaks of this Divine Exchange and says, “ 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. So, in order to experience this Divine Exchange, you must be willing to let go of the past and connect with the New! Are you ready to connect to receive His Love?
Have you shared your testimony of how Christ healed you or delivered you when you were in bondage? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. The next result that I saw of this Divine Exchange was Christ's Divine assignment for our eternal destiny! The A part of verse 2 says, “2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, …. Some translations say, “The year of the Lord’s favor”. God showed us favor and grace when He sent His Son Jesus to save a dying world! He was sent to proclaim that salvation was available through Him, only if you believe! Life is about choices and we can choose to believe Christ or not believe but it’s up to you. There are consequences to this decision, so choose wisely! John 9:39 illustrates this in the NIV translation and it says, “39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” See when you refuse to believe or accept Jesus Christ as your Savior you enter into sin and spiritual blindness will set in. When this happens, you are in bad shape because you have put yourself in a position to receive the wrath of God instead of His favor that I just spoke of! The B part of this verse says, “And the day of vengeance of our God;” … God’s Love can conquer our sins but only when we all Him too! John 3:36 NKJV, elaborate more on this when it said, “ 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Jesus wants to exchange your eternal damnation for His life of eternity, but you must choose to receive it from Him through the Divine Exchange. So, are you willing?
This is when we must pray for the unsaved for God to reach them.
Are you willing to find three people that may not be saved and pray for their salvation? ________ Write their names below so that you can add them to your prayer list for the next 2 weeks. ___________________________________________________________________________
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3. Christ's Love for us offers humanity, the Divine Exchange as we receive His beauty for our ashes! God’s Love conquers our infirmities and brings about restoration for our lives! The C part of verse 2 and the first 4 lines of 3 verse tells what this Divine Exchange looks like and it says, “To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;” What are my ashes you might wonder to yourself? Ashes are any type of weakness, failures, and anything that caused us pain!
Have you reached out to someone who maybe hurting or lonely to show them Christ cares for them? How can we show Christ to people despite the Pandemic? Please give me some examples___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
These passages speak of God’s strength that He gives to His people when we are hurting and mourning! God loves us so much that He is right there with us when we go through our pain. Sometimes God can choose to remove the suffering that we are going through and there are times when He will come alongside us to carry and bare it with us! Just ask the Apostle Paul about his thorn in the flesh. He cried out to God three times for God to remove it and God said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. So, God uses our suffering for Him to make us strong through His Grace as we receive His Divine Exchange!
How would you tell someone else how to tap into God’s grace that is always sufficient and there when we need it?
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4. Lastly, I saw that this Divine Exchange gives us a name change and a new identity! The D part of this verse says, “That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” God changes our name from sinner to saint and from an opponent to a disciple. He also calls is trees of righteousness because He made us righteous through Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. When we know Who we are in Him, nothing can shake us. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” This name change could only take place through a Divine Exchange when we connect with Jesus. Are you ready to connect?
So, the Divine Exchange can enable you to change from Abram to Abraham, Saul to Paul, and Jacob to Israel. Jacob had to wrestle with God to bring about him and character change through a Divine Exchange! Genesis 32:26-28 AMPC tells of this Spiritual Awaking took place to get Israel to walk in his purpose! 26 Then He said, Let Me go, for day is breaking. But [Jacob] said, I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing upon me. 27 [The Man] asked him, What is your name? And [in shock of realization, whispering] he said, Jacob [supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler]! 28 And He said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob [supplanter], but Israel [contender with God]; for you have contended and have power with God and with men and have prevailed.
Spiritual Exchange Check-Up
1. What are you holding onto that you need to let go and have a Divine Exchange with God?__________________________________________________________________________
2. Have you let go of your past hurts and pain in a Divine Exchange for Christ forgiveness and healing?__________________________________________________________________
3. Can you think of a time in your life where you experienced your Jacob to Israel or Paul to Saul moment with a Divine Exchange? ______________________________________________
4. Reflecting over the past 2 weeks, how have you allowed Christ Love to Conquer your struggles?________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a common deception of the devil that many people are in today but does not realize their being deceived or it’s from the devil? _____________________________________
6. Can you think of a time in your life where you experienced your Jacob to Israel or Paul to Saul moment with a Divine Exchange? _______________________________________________
7. Are you having feeling of being overwhelmed or anxiety? Are you simply in need of prayer?___________________________________________________________________________
8. Are you consumed with loneliness? ________________________________________________
Watch the video sermon to The Divine Exchange
About the Author
Evangelist Sophia Jeffrie is an ordained Reverend and called Evangelist into the Gospel Ministry where she serves the Lord with her whole heart! Evangelist Jeffrie is a retired Chief Petty Officer from the United States Navy, where she led, guided, trained, and ministered to thousands of Sailors throughout her career. God placed in her an assignment where He has positioned and trusted her with guiding His most troubled and vulnerable youth. It was there the Lord revealed His true purpose for her life and birthed in her the vision and purpose for what is now “Wisdom Truths”, a life-changing personal growth and development workshop designed to enhance the overall social and spiritual growth of At-Risk Youth. Evangelist Jeffrie has allowed God to use her as He heals and transforms lives by ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a larger scale! Her message of love and purpose is relatable to those from all walks of life and will certainly serve as a blessing to you as well. Evangelist Jeffrie received a Master of Arts Degree in Ministry from Luther Rice College & Seminary in 2018. She has two sons, a stepson and two stepdaughters, and has nine grandchildren.