GOD'S GIFTS ARE FOREVER

December 08, 2002 am

MF Blume

Leviticus 25:8-10 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. (9) Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. (10) And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Leviticus 25:23-28 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. (24) And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. (25) If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. (26) And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; (27) Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. (28) But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

Leviticus 25:35-44 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. (36) Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. (37) Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. (38) I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. (39) And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: (40) But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: (41) And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. (42) For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. (43) Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God. (44) Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

This chapter speaks about the Year of Jubilee, and Redemption.

From my own experience in younger years in the church, the thought of "redemption" simply meant being saved.
And I never really knew why the Bible simply never said "SAVED" instead of "REDEEMED."

Redemption is mentioned again and again in the Bible.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

And it is a fact that most people do not understand REDEMPTION.

And I also want to show how redemption involves so much to both the sinner and the child of God!

First of all, redemption was noted several times in the Old Testament, and it involved laws which are related to us in this 25th chapter of Leviticus.

Redemption occurred when something was lost, and was paid for by a ransom to be returned.

Let me speak about a few issues we can apply to ourselves as Christians from Leviticus 25.

Lev. 25 teaches us also that a special year of Jubilee occurred every 50 years. Twice in one century.

JUBILEE is actually an anglicized word, or a word transliterated from another language into English as a similar sounding word, from the Hebrew YOBEL.
YOBEL was how the hebrews described the BLASTING SOUND of the trumpet.

During this fiftieth year, everything returned to it's original state.

Lands and even Israelite people that were sold by Israelites in times of need, returned to the original owners.

Note that God said the land shall not be sold for ever.

God gave them the land of Canaan.
And He would never let them lose it.
He actually said it was His land and they were more or less like boarders staying with him.
Soujourners and strangers with Him -- v. 23
So they could not sell it since it was really not their own anyway, but they were only tenants.
But there is also the thought that God does not give blessings only to see you lose them.
God made sure of that by the security of the JUBILEE and REDEMPTION.
Back at that time, when you were struck with poverty for some reason, and had to sell your land, the buyer had to understand that you would be able to receive it again by paying for it, if you came up with the money later on -- redeeming it.
Otherwise, you had to wait until the YEAR OF JUBILEE to have it return to you, free of charge, once again.

The same occurred with people who were sold.

But the Lord would not allow a buyer of a person to think the person was their slave.
God brought them out of Egypt, and out of bondage, and His people were not to be treated as slaves.
They would not be ruled over with rigour, as the Egyptians ruled over them with rigour.
They would be regarded as hired servants.
And they would return home in the year of jubilee.
So sold servants and sold land, lost due to poverty, were all restored in the year of jubilee.
And Jesus picked up on this and spoke of it in a spiritual sense at the very start of His ministry.

Luke 4:14-21 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. (15) And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. (16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. (17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, (18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. (21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD is the year of Jubilee.

That was the statement Jesus made in reference to JUBILEE.
It was THEN God's acceptable time for the YEAR OF THE LORD to come.
And this statement of Jesus is actually saying the entire CHURCH AGE is like one long YEAR OF JUBILEE that began when he came and started ministering here.
The GOSPEL would be preached to the POOR.
It was the POOR who were sold as servants and who sold their lands in the days of Law.
But there are those spiritually poor who are sold under sin.
Adam sold us all out.

The ULTIMATE RETURN TO ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP is getting us back to the status Adam had before he fell in the Garden of Eden.

His fall made us all sinners.
As a result, people are brokenhearted.
Captives.
Blind.
Bruised.

And PREACHING a REVELATION is always indicated by the SOUND OF A TRUMPET.

Isaiah 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people.........

And that is why we read of Jesus' voice sounding like a TRUMPET throughout the Book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation is the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

When Jesus was revealed in Luke, he began by reading about how HIS COMING fulfilled the YEAR OF JUBILEE.
People would return to the state that God placed us in way back in Adam's time when God placed him in the Garden of Eden with blessings and dominion and everlasting life!
But we were sold.
So the entire New testament is simply the PROCLAMATION that everything mankind lost when he was sold under sin in the days of Adam is restored once again!
The law of the people and lands in regards to the jubilee said that people and land could be bought back and redeemed.

Leviticus 25:48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:

But if something cannot be redeemed by money, then it will wait until the year of jubilee and then return, anyway.

But we are like the man who owed ten thousand talents to a master, who could not pay him., in Matthew 18.
And he forgave us, as though a year of jubilee occurred.
We could not pay the price required for our sins.
It was too much.
We owed a debt we could not pay.
We needed someone to wash our sins away.
Everytime someone preaches the Gospel, THE SILVER TRUMPET OF JUBILEE SOUNDS!
COME BACK TO EDEN!
In other words, get eternal life through faith that Adam could get through the fruit of the tree of life.
Silver was always associated with REDEMPTION.
Recall that it was thirty pieces of SILVER that Judas was paid for Jesus to be taken and crucified.
And His crucifixion paid the price to redeem us.

What is interesting is that FIFTIETH in Greek is PENTECOST.

There is the DAY OF PENTECOST, which was fifty days after the sabbath following the feast of firstfruits, the day Jesus was resurrected.
That is the DAY OF PENTECOST.

But the year of JUBILEE is the fiftieth YEAR.

So there is also a YEAR OF PENTECOST!

And we already showed you where Jesus referred to the entire GOSPEL AGE as the YEAR OF THE LORD.

So the entire Gospel age is the PENTECOSTAL AGE.

That is not to be confused with designating one denomination over another.
Pentecost was never meant to be a denomination.
It is an experience.
Its the experience that occurred in Acts 2.
God wants every person of every denomination to have the pentecostal experience.
He wants YOU to have it.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

There was a weekly SEVENTH DAY SABBATH.

That occurred every seven days.
The seventh day of the week was Sabbath.
But the day of Pentecost was a 50th Day Sabbath.
So it's a SPECIAL sabbath.

There were also Seventh Year Sabbaths.

Every seven years was a SABBATH YEAR.
The entire year prohibited anyone from planting or reaping anything in the ground, except for taking food that was then considered common for everyone to take freely.
No owner of land could restrict the food on his land for himself.
And the manner in which the people survived was by God blessing the land the sixth year to produce enough for the next three years!
The three years were the sixth one, in which they could plant and reap, and the seventh year in which they were not to plant and reap, and the eighth year in which they would again start planting, and still eat from the old sixth year.

Leviticus 25:4-5 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. (5) That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

Leviticus 25:20-22 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: (21) Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. (22) And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

In other words, there was no work during this entire year, but the Lord would BLESS beforehand with so much blessings of crops that they would eat of it for the entire sabbath year of no work.

Now, that happened every seven years.

However, the PENTECOSTAL YEAR of jubilee was ALSO A SABBATH.

Leviticus 25:11-12 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. (12) For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

These are the same laws for the seventh year sabbath!

Now, watch this.
How many sabbaths came between each Year of Jubilee?

Leviticus 25:8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

Between each JUBILEE YEAR was SEVEN SABBATH YEARS.

And that would bring you to the FIFTIETH YEAR of Jubilee.
"Fiftieth" is "PENTECOST" in Greek.
So there would be seven sabbath years, each year allowing no sowing or reaping.
The last sabbath year before the 50th was the 49th year - the seventh sabbath year since the last jubilee.

That means that the 49th and 50th years are TWO SABBATH YEARS IN A ROW!

A DOUBLE PORTION!

-- The seventh sabbath year plus the next fiftieth year of jubilee!
TWO YEARS IN A ROW OF NO SOWING OR REAPING.
Double portions are significant in the Bible.
The firstborn Son received a double portion of land compared to all the other sons of a man's family.
Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's anointing and power, and Elijah told him that it would be so if he would see Elijah ascend.
Elisha saw it and the mantle fell.
In Acts 1 the Apostles saw Jesus ascend into Heaven and went to Jerusalem and the Holy Ghost fell on them, and they received POWER, and did the things Jesus did, and greater.
There are eyes of understanding (Eph 1:19) that we must use to see Jesus has ascended.
And the Bible prophesied that the REST or SABBATH God would bring would be the HOLY GHOST.

Isaiah 28:11-12 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. (12) To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

1 Corinthians 14:21-22 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. (22) Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

The apostles preached about Jesus the day they spoke with tongues, and indicated JESUS GIVES THE REST.

But it was foretold the people would not listen.
Many will not listen to the JUBILEE GOSPEL MESSAGE of deliverance and redemption.
But those who do will return to the place God first put man in the Garden of Eden.
A tree of life.
River of life.
Dominion and power.
The land would not be sold for ever.
Jubilee secured that.
In other words, if it's sold, it's only sold temporarily.

The Gospel truth is that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world.

Before Adam even sinned, there was the salvation plan all set to redeem man again.
In other words, man would not be lost for ever.
God would make sure part of mankind would come back!
The remnant!
God always had a remnant.
When His people were taken and destroyed and captured, He always made sure SOME WERE LEFT, to continue on.
Many died and never returned, but there was always a remnant that stood in place of the whole group that did return.
The CHURCH is the remnant of humanity that God brings back to Himself.

But there is also the redemption of ANYTHING in the land of Canaan that God gave to us.

Spiritually speaking, Canaan is our blessings from God.
And while we are in Canaan, with God's blessings, we MAY GROW POOR and LOSE a blessing God gave to us.
Now, God said that the land is not to be sold for ever.
He made provision through redemption and jubilee to ensure it returns.
How many of you once had a blessing from God, but lost it due to spiritual poverty?
You had the joy of the Lord, or the dance in the Spirit, or liberty, or a ministry, or a gift of the Spirit.

The gifts and the callings of God are without repentance.

God does not repent over ever giving you a gift.
The land was a GIFT to Israel.
They did not work for it.
And so are the things I mentioned above.
Canaan land stood for our spiritual blessings like these.
And they will not be sold for ever.

And IF YOU HAVE SOLD THESE OUT FOR ANY REASON AT ALL....

...God has ensured they will always be able to return one day.
One day there will be a great jubilee such as has never been known.
This Pentecostal Year of the Church age is jubilee.
However, even Hebrews 6 says that it is a mere taste of the world to come.
And one day, if you continue to serve Christ faithfully, and holily, the resurrection will see us enter glory in new bodies.
You will have joy unspeakable.
You will have that dance in the Spirit.
And you will have whatever slipped from you in times of spiritual poverty, if you continue to stay saved.
But if you can garner the PRICE before that special year of jubilee arrives, you can GET THESE THINGS BEFORE JUBILEE ARRIVES.
Redemption is always paid for by the BLOOD of Jesus.

1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

You can redeem all that you have lost by the blood of Jesus!

What does that mean?
You become spiritually poor by losing your faith.
You lost sight of you and Jesus.
The blood of Jesus paid for you to be saved, and redeemed you to God.
And when you lose faith and give in to doubts, you slip away from the victory you had.
It could be a crisis of peril in your walk where something happened that caused you to forget about faith and forget about God and forget about blessings, until you sold your dance and blessings out.
Maybe you were offended by someone, and you forget about being a Christian and letting it ride, and you lost it all.
YOU CAN REDEEM IT BACK!!!!!

Return to your faith.

Realize you're still a child of God.
Realize he made a way so that whatever He gave to you never is lost forever.
You can get it in glory again, but you can also redeem it now.
Using the blood simply means that you have FAITH that because you are a believer in Jesus' cross where He shed His blood for you, then you CLAIM whatever you LOST that is part of His blessings.