Prayer through a Hymn: May the Lord Jesus be our Vision and Focus in 2014

May the words of this hymn rings throughout our hearts for 2014

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, and I thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Demonstrating the True Spirit of Jubilee

In 2015, Singapore is entering into its Jubilee (50^th year) and many are expecting it to be a great year for God to work in our midst.

However, this comes from paralleling the effects of Israel’s Jubilee to ours. The question is whether it is right to do so? Will there be the similar effects of the Jubilee on Israel to Singapore in 2015?

While many will debate on this assumption, the truth is that the constitution of the year of Jubilee points to the ministry of Jesus. And the Lord Jesus came to demonstrate and fulfill the true nature of the Jubilee.

Luke 4:17-21 (NKJV) ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. 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 has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹ to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." ²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

When Jesus proclaimed these words, He declared the partial fulfillment of the prophecy by Isaiah (Isa 61). Looking at His ministry on earth, He demonstrate the true spirit of the Jubilee: To release those in bondage; to bring restoration and healing to man; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

If there is something that we would like to equate the effects of Israel’s Jubilee to ours, let it be that we will join with the Lord in declaring and demonstrating the true nature of Jubilee to the land (this year 2014 and particularly next year 2015). These are some effects of the Jubilee which Jesus demonstrated.

1)     Restoration of man/Release of those under oppression or bonds.  

During the 50^th year in Israel, the commands of God to the people is that liberty being proclaimed to all the people of the land. Property and possession are to be returned to its original owner. Those who are slave or in some kind of bonds are released and set free.

Leviticus 25:13 (NKJV) ¹³  'In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.

Leviticus 25:39-41 (NKJV) ³⁹  'And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. ⁴⁰ As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ And then he shall depart from you--he and his children with him--and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.

Jesus came and set captives free. He came to restore man. He came to bring healing. May the church rise up to do so in 2014 and especially 2015. 

2)     Recognition of who the real owner/ redeemer is: God

In the time of Jubilee, although the land was reverted back to its original owner. Yet if we look carefully in Lev 25, we will recognize that the real owner/redeemer is God. It is because both the people and the land belongs to God. He was the one who delivered Israel from Egypt and had given them the land. He is the ORIGINAL owner.

Therefore, we can see these emphases in these verses:

Leviticus 25:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷  Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 25:35-38 (NKJV) ³⁵  'If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. ³⁶  Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. ³⁷  You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. ³⁸  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Leviticus 25:55 (NKJV) ⁵⁵  For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Jesus came and bring man back to God, the real owner. May the church, co-labor with Jesus, to bring back those who were lost and point many back to the real owner of the soul.

Jesus came to give understanding of who God is. Likewise, may the church also rise up to do so in the true spirit of Jubilee.

3)     Renew trust in God and His ability to provide

If we look at the Jubilee year, it is a year whereby the land is to rest.

Leviticus 25:11-12 (NKJV) ¹¹ That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. ¹² For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.

Yet in the year before the Jubilee, the 49^th year is also a year of rest for the land.

Leviticus 25:2-4 (NKJV) ² "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD. ³ Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; ⁴ but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

Therefore, during the 49^th and 50^th year, it is consecutively 2 years of no sowing or systematic ingathering. Don’t you think that the people really need to trust God for His provision? One would need to have renew trust, increase confidence in God and His Promises during this Jubilee season.

But thank God for His promise in Lev 25:20-22. What He promised, He will fulfilled.

Leviticus 25:18-22 (NKJV) ¹⁸ 'So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. ¹⁹ Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. ²⁰ And if you say, "What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?" ²¹ Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. ²² And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

Jesus taught about faith and trust in God. He ministered from the posture of rest. May the church be able to rest in His Presence and minister from the posture of rest. May the church increase the level of faith and confidence in God. And may the church trust in what He can provide in a daily basis and in a supernatural basis.

In conclusion, Jesus came and proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor. He fulfilled and demonstrated the true nature of the Jubilee. And if there is something that we want to parallel the effects of Israel’s Jubilee to Singapore, I pray that it will be a demonstration of what Jesus did.