Live a Jubilant Life
Luke 4:16-21
David Vanlandingham, February 14, 2010
Introduction
A. The Problem of burdensome debt
1. Our nation in particular and much of the global community in general are in the midst of dealing with the effects of crippling debt, both corporate and government. For example, Investment Banks were loaning out up to a 40 to 1 ratio of their reserves (the equivalent of you having to put up only $10,000.00 to buy a $400,000.00 property. With only a 2 ½% drop in value, your $10,000.00 equity would evaporate!). It appears that we have narrowly averted a crushing financial disaster that could well have thrown our nation into a severe depression rivaling, if not surpassing, the Great Depression of some 75 years ago.
2. On a smaller scale, the same catastrophic effects can and do happen to individuals. Too often, our desire for immediate gratification leads us to an over-use of available credit. Then, when a job loss or sickness or something unexpected happens, suddenly, we find ourselves in a financial crisis (One young family that I counseled a few years ago had racked up over $50,000.00 of credit card debt alone, not including their mortgage and car payments!).
B. The Power of a fresh start
1. Our nation’s bankruptcy laws are designed to protect debtors who become unable to meet their obligations. This does not mean those who must use this protection do not suffer severe consequences. The record of bankruptcy stays on your credit report for years making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain traditional credit resources. Unfortunately, sometimes this avenue of protection is abused by unethical types who manipulate the system to actually defraud those who extend credit to them
2. However, what do you think would happen if we put out the word that on April 1, 2010, all of the debts of every member of the League St. Church of Christ would be paid off by an anonymous benefactor (maybe a Bill Gates, etc)?
a. Would that excite you just a little bit? Would that bring joy to your life? Would you rush out and run up all of the debt that you possibly could? Do you think there would be a line of people all of the way from here to Dallas who would be trying to become members of this church?
b. Sketch various scenarios of debt: 2010 3500 Series Silverado, 4 X 4, dually, $45,000; new 36’ 5th Wheel RV, $70,000; two Harley Road King touring bikes, $35,000; $499,000 mortgage; $250,000 lakeside vacation cottage; loan against 401K, $50,000; 10 Louis Vuitton purses with matching accessories, $50,000; etc.
C. Historical Background and Context of Luke 4:16-21 (Read)
1. Our text is rooted in this very kind of God-given and ordained social practice. Jesus read from the Isaiah 61:1-3 which has its roots in Leviticus where details are spelled out regarding three different, yet connected, Sabbaths that the Lord God decreed that His people were to observe – Sabbath= “ to cease, desist”
2. The three Sabbaths: (1) the Sabbath day; (2) the Sabbath year; (2) the Year of Jubilee – Summarize each – (1) Sabbath day = rest for man, a day of solemn assembly; (2) Sabbath year = rest for the land; (2) Jubilee Year, Lev. 25 (ram’s horn, or trumpet) = the “mother of all Sabbaths” = Release from debts and from servitude; Restoration of ancestral land inheritance; Rest from labor for both mankind and the land, a two year, back to back, rest for all concerned. The 50th year was one, big, year-long party. It was the great equalizer. It was designed to change their “dog-eat-dog” world-view into a 50 year game with a reset button. It was God’s “reset button” that gave the poor a second chance.
3. It was an economics stimulus package, a bail-out plan, unlike anything the world has ever seen. It was not Communism where everything is State controlled. No, your right to own land and make a profit were guaranteed. But, it was not unrestrained Capitalism either. You could not buy up all of your neighbor’s land and keep it forever. You could not bankrupt your competitors permanently. And, you also were required to look out for the poor and not allow them to be taken advantage of. No matter how bad things got, every 50 years, things were balanced out again. There was hope. There was a way out. The poor had a fresh start.
4. But, as you may already be sensing, Leviticus is not the end of the Jubilee Year idea and principles. Rather, the Jubilee Year imagery is used by Luke, taken from Isaiah, as a way to frame the way that he presents the mission of Jesus to the world.
5. So, what was Jesus actually saying when he stated that this prediction in Isaiah had been fulfilled in him? Well, it has to be obvious from our perspective that Jesus was saying that the effects of his ministry were the real, the actual, the intended fulfillment of the blessings fore-shadowed by the Year of Jubilee.
Transition: Note the following 3 outcomes of the Year of Jubilee that only find their actual fulfillment in Jesus Himself. Only in Him is the true Year of Jubilee!
I. Release
1. Freedom from servitude
a. No longer enslaved to the Devil
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” 1 Pet. 5:8, 9a
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor. 10:13
b. Redeemed by our Savior
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Rom. 8:1, 2
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5:1
2. Unburdened from impossible debt
a. He paid a debt he did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay
b. Illustration: Four ways to sin (thought, word, action, inaction) Four a day = 1460 annually and 73,000 in 50 years – do you really want to stand before God and our Lord Jesus on the Judgment Day with a Rap Sheet like that? Facing an impossible debt like that? Jesus already took the RAP for you. Are you going to ignore it, reject it, spurn it? You either pay for your own sins or accept the payment that Jesus made for you.
II. Restoration
1. Of ancestral inheritance
a. What was lost in Adam is regained in Christ
“For if, by the trespass of the one man (Adam), death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness, reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:17-19
b. Our lost paradise home is regained
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.” Rev. 22:1-3a
2. Of the dignity of being
a. God is in the business of restoration – Extreme Makeovers!
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10, 11
b. No longer enslaved to selfish addictions
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Gal. 5:13
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Gal 5:16
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is not law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Gal. 5:19-25
c. Become what you are designed to be – A person of Faith, a person of trust – Nothing moves the heart of God like the faith and trust of His children.
God is in control. It does not matter what is happening in the economy, it doesn’t matter what is happening on the political scene or who is in the White House. It doesn’t matter what is done with Social Security or healthcare, or anything else. God is in control of everything in the world and universe.!
It is time to stop listening to your head, to your own logic, and to start empowering your faith, your trust in God.
III. Rest
1. From labor
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30
Rest in the Grace of our Lord’s Salvation Jubilee
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:6-10
2. For reflection and revival – Jubilee was also a time of revival
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.” Heb. 10:23-25
Conclusion
A. Enter your own Jubilee – No matter what your present circumstances are, Jesus calls you to celebrate: celebrate salvation, celebrate restoration, celebrate new beginnings and, most of all, to celebrate Him – celebrate the life, the Jubilee (if you will), found only in Him! The message of salvation is the message of your own Jubilee. How could you refuse such a wonderful blessing?
B. Claim your spiritual inheritance – Gal. 3:26-29 – “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
It does not matter what holds you captive today – yours fears, your past failures, your addictions, your self-righteous attitude, your procrastination, your secret life, your anger, your stubbornness, - the good news of the Jubilee in Christ is that there is freedom from the tyranny of Satan and your own sinful nature – “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” John 8:36.
C. Experience restoration of your true humanity – This year, 2010, can be your Year of Jubilee in Christ Jesus. Whatever it is that’s holding you back from this awesome blessing, God wants to remove it. Please, allow Jesus through the power of his Holy Spirit to give you grace and peace, restoration and release, rest and confidence to move forward in doing the will of God. Do it today. Do it now!
