In the sermon this Godly women took us to the pages of Isaiah 61 and compared it to Luke 4. Luke 4 is the passage where Jesus is in the synagogue reads a passage from Isaiah and sits down and says "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing"(Luke 4:21)
What passage was fulfilled that day you ask? Well he read the first verses of Isaiah 61.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
So, I don't know about you but when I read Isaiah I always get a little confused. So what is this talking about? It is talking about the year of jubilee. So back in the days of Israel, most of us know that there was a sabbath day. Well, there was also a sabbath year. So after six years of planting crops, the seventh year they would not work and they would allow the land to rest as well. Now, after the seventh seventh year, there would be a year of jubilee. This passage is talking about this year, or the year of our Lord.
Now a few things happen during the year of jubilee:
1. All debt is cancelled
2. All Land is returned to it's original owner
3. Slaves were freed
4. All were given a new beginning
5. Economy was balanced
If the year of jubilee were to happen today, it would be as if you had no college debt anymore!! No debt at all. There would be no rich man or poor man all would be equalized and we were given the chance to completely start over.
Well, why am I talking about his ancient practice? Jesus read it aloud in the synagogue and said that He had come to fulfill it.
This means in Christ we are always in a spiritual year of jubilee!! This means that:
1. Our sin debt is cancelled
2. We return to our maker
3. Once a slave to sin, we are freed to serve Christ
4. We are given a new beginning
5. There is a level playing field at the foot of the cross
Wow!! after hearing this message I felt like Jesus was saying to me, "Kenady stop being so hard on yourself!" I am living in the year of jubilee so these things are all true.
The year of Jubilee frees us from comparison to others because we are all equalized by the blood of Jesus, and it gives us freedom that the bondage of sin gives us. Most importantly, it gives us an assurance of our salvation because our salvation is not based on works rather it is based on the blood of Christ.
God has given me a car and still I forget about his wonderful grace. I may be spiritually bankrupt but that is the point "God's power is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:9. When I stop trying to prove to myself that I'm okay, and start believing that Jesus came to earth so that I could be free, God is glorified. In my mess, God is brought higher, my sin debt is cancelled and I am made free.
He has anointed us which means he has chosen us to proclaim this truth to the world. To tell all about how they can live in a constant state of year of jubilee, and in that we will be oaks of righteousness because we will be declaring the Lord's glory and that will be our reputation.
So for the burnt out…let's stop running around trying to be perfect and instead rest in knowing that we are in the spiritual year of jubilee.
