Rest and Jubilee James Shepherd
St. Paul's Anglican Church Chatswood - SermonsMarch 04, 201730:0642.11 MB

Rest and Jubilee James Shepherd

Rest and Jubilee James Shepherd

Series: LEVITICUS || FREE TO BE HOLY

Speaker: Steve Jeffrey

Date: 4th March 2017

Passage: Leviticus 25:1-55


00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Katie and I went to Bali for our honeymoon.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:08 We had an amazing time of surfing and relaxing and resting.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 And after planning a wedding, you need that.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 You really do need that.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 Because planning a wedding is a very stressful thing to do.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 We need that holiday, and Bali was that just for us.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:26 Holidaying and resting presents an ideal many of us have for what work is and what work is about.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:32 We earn enough money so we can indulge ourselves in holidays and travel and rest.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:43 Where instead of waking up in a 9-to-5 job, we wake up late and drag our feet to the resort pool and lounge and sip cocktails all day until we go to sleep.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 And do all over again.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:46 Or we might do the opposite thing.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:55 And we seek a thrilling adventure holiday where we might go hike mountains or dive in underwater caves or surf the best waves ever.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:00 Rest for these people is escaping the mundane cycle of life.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:06 And whatever throws themselves into an adventure where they don't know what might come next.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 For many, the goal of their work is rest.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 The goal of their work is holiday and travel.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 And it's not a wrong way to think of it.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 For we see in the Bible, God has the same goal for work.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:20 Rest.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:20 Rest.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 In Genesis 1, we have six days of creating, of working.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 As God creates, He works.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:31 And after He has made the heavens and the earth, after He has made man in His likeness to bear His image,
00:01:32 --> 00:01:36 on the seventh day we read that God rested from His work.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:42 Our desire for rest from work is not simply due to our being limited or finite.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:54 Our desire to rest is actually patterned after God Himself who declared in His own rest that the crown, the jewel of all work, is rest.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:03 But because of man's rebellion, this work became fraught with toil and hardship.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:09 As we read in Genesis chapter 3, the crown of rest could no longer be realized because of sin.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:18 The wonderful hope, though, is that God, out of His freedom and desire to know us and make a way for us to be in His presence,
00:02:18 --> 00:02:23 sets up a system in which we are able to enjoy rest with Him.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 The kind of rest we were created for.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:28 Resting with God.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:32 He creates a day called the Sabbath, which you read about in Exodus chapter 20.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:41 A law that required the people of God to rest on the seventh day of the week, after working six days, just like in creation.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:48 We see that despite our sin, despite our rebellion, God intends to dwell with His people.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:53 Sabbath rest is the climax of the working week for the Hebrew people,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:59 as they gather as God's people in God's place to enjoy God's blessing and God's mercy.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 And as we've been noting throughout this series, the book of Leviticus,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:11 this book is a book about how God graciously provides a way for people to live in His presence.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 They may become holy, set apart, and distinct from the rest of the nations.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:23 At the heart of this program for holiness was keeping the Sabbath.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:28 As long as they kept the Sabbath rest, they could enjoy the presence of God,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 that which was like the Garden of Eden.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:35 And the back end of Leviticus is mostly about instructions on the Sabbath
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 and the different kinds of Sabbath there are.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 And I believe from chapters 23 to 26,
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 these chapters helpfully critique our modern world today
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 and its approach to work and rest.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:53 But more than that, they also foreshadow the rest that is to come,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 the rest that shapes the gospel as well.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 That is to say, the goal of the Sabbath laws was not to be an ending of themselves,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 but to point towards the rest that is to come in Jesus.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:09 But first, let's look at Leviticus and see how it critiques our modern day world.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:18 Firstly, it promotes the importance of rest and the danger of overworking for humanity.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:25 Jesus said Himself in Mark's gospel that Sabbath is for man and not man for Sabbath,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 which is a helpful reminder when we read about Sabbath in Leviticus.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 It's there to serve us, to help us, to enjoy us, to rest.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:39 In chapter 23 of Leviticus, we are given an outline of different kinds of feasts and festivals
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 that the people of God were to celebrate.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 But it's the Sabbath day principle that informs all of them.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 From verse 1 of 23, it says,
00:04:49 --> 00:05:14 These festivals were called sacred assemblies.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:18 That is, they were special gatherings of God's people.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:23 They were holy gatherings, set apart from the rest of the life that they lived.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:28 That the weekly Sabbath is also called a sacred assembly,
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 characterizes the nature of these feasts and these festivals.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:37 That the point of them was to continue to underpin the importance of Sabbath rest.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:46 The regular pattern of life was constantly interrupted by the various festivals and the weekly Sabbath.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:54 Their whole calendar centered around it in order that they would be constantly aware of the God
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 who called them to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 Our world today is nothing like this.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:11 We revolve our calendar around our work, around the end of financial year, not rest.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:15 We've seen this in the recent push to cut penalty rates on weekends.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:23 We no longer think it's necessary to compensate those who forego their rest for the sake of others.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 The modern day economy is seven days.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 Seven working days.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:33 God gave Sabbath rest to his people to show that work is relative,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:38 that no matter how much they work, it's still God who provides for them.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 It's still God in the end who gives them what they have.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:47 Everything they have is by the grace of God, not due to their effort in their work.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 That's what the weekly Sabbath pointed towards.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 That everything they have was given to them by God.
00:06:54 --> 00:07:01 These festivals and weekly Sabbaths remind people of that, to stop and be thankful.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:06 Such is an important lesson for us to remember.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 That everything we have is by the gracious provision of God.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:41 That everything we have is by the grace of God.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 We have to be like the world, who in the end worships work.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 Devoting themselves to it.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 Centering their whole lives and their calendar around it,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 so they can feel secure and comfortable.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 We devote ourselves to the Lord God.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 And Sabbath rest is a constant tool for the Israelite people,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 giving them the opportunity to do that.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 To teach them, not to revolve their lives around their work.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 Not to trust in themselves as the ones who provide for themselves.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:14 But to trust in God, who is good and gracious.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 Who makes a way to provide for them.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 To enjoy His presence.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 So that's the first thing.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:27 Secondly, it promotes the importance of rest and the danger of overworking for the land.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:32 Sabbath rest is made for man, but since it's made for man,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 it ought to benefit the land as well.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:42 For in creation, mankind and the land enjoyed a perfect relationship in which He could work without struggle,
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 without toil, the ground.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:50 But because of sin, our relationship with the ground became disordered and dysfunctional and corrupted.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 Work became a struggle.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 By the sweat of your brow, you will work the ground, as Genesis 3 says.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:02 And so it was important the ground also enjoyed Sabbath rest.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 Leviticus 25, the first two verses.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai,
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 Speak to the Israelites and say to them,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 When you enter the land I am going to give you,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:16 the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the Lord.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:22 My dad, in the last couple of years, has taken up gardening.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 He loves gardening now.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 He plants all his fruit and vegetables.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:30 He's got four garden beds in his property at home, in the backyard.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 And I myself have actually taken quite a bit of interest in this.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 I've actually really enjoyed going back to my parents' place
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 and looking at the garden and surveying all its wonder
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 and just sitting back and going,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 Oh, wow.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 Where are you growing, Dad?
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 Where are you growing this kind of fruit, that kind of vegetable?
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 One of the really important things about growing a garden,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 I'm sure if you're interested in it, you'll know,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 is that you can't just continually grow things in the garden bed.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:59 You've got to let the garden bed every now and then rest,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 to fallow, to sit for a time period,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 and then plant again in it.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 If you want sustainable growth from the best kind of crop,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 you've got to allow for this resting period.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:16 It's the same here in Leviticus 25.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:22 God wants the land to have rest, its own Sabbath,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:26 every seventh year, to rest from being worked upon.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:31 The land then would have the freedom to produce whatever it could on its own,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 and the Israelite people would feed from that.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 Such a Sabbath rest, though,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:43 ultimately allows for man to be reminded of their place in creation
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 and the immense value of the land.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 It allows the people of God to humble themselves,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:54 to not see the land as theirs to consume and to pillage and to take from it,
00:10:54 --> 00:11:00 but the land as God's given to them to work and to take care of,
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 to be image bearers as they do so,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 to show God's goodness in creation.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:10 God loves everything he has made.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 And from the beginning,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 in Genesis 1,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 before there even was man,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 there were six days of creation
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 in which God said,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:18 it was good,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 it was good,
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 it was good,
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 it was good,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:21 it was good,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:22 it was good.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 Creation has its own value apart from us as people.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:33 And God won't take any injustice and abuse lightly.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 He has no patience for it.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 In the following chapter,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 he says in verse 27,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:45 verse 33,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 I will scatter you among the nations.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 He'll kick them out
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 and draw out my sword and pursue you.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 He'll drive them out from the land.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 Then the land will enjoy its Sabbath years
00:11:58 --> 00:12:02 all the time that it lies desolate.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 All that time that it lies desolate,
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 the land will have the rest it did not have
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 during its Sabbath you lived in it.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:16 God immensely cares for his creation.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 The land is precious to him
00:12:18 --> 00:12:23 and has immense dignity and value in its own right.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 Wouldn't it be awful if he lived in such a society
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 that abused and pillaged the land
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 for its own financial gain?
00:12:34 --> 00:12:38 Many of us don't think about the idea of justice for the land.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 And if we're honest, we probably don't care.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 I know I'm guilty of that.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 We may ignore all the science that tells us
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 that our constant consumption is causing more harm than good,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 that our foresting and mining,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 our pumping into the air of CO2 emissions
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 is having a detrimental effect on the wildlife
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 and the earth itself.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 And the most scathing indictment upon us as believers
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 is that the secular science
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 are the ones who are leading the charge
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 in providing justice for the land.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 People who are not believers,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 they're the ones leading the charge,
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 not God's people,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 not the ones who bear God's image,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 who are called to take care of the land.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 Now, I don't want you to think
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 the application of this sermon
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 is to recycle and vote for the Greens.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:37 Although those things aren't necessarily bad,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 but I do want you to be aware
00:13:39 --> 00:13:43 that the consumeristic society that we live in
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 and rub up against daily
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 not only harms our souls,
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 it harms our earth.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 It harms our lands.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 Many Christians have been sold a lie
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 when we think the condition of our earth
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 simply doesn't matter.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 I wish to be bold and say,
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 yes, it does.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:03 It's a gospel issue as well.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 And it's not recycling or voting for the Greens
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 that's going to solve this issue.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 It's the gospel that will solve it.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 For at the heart of the issue
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 is a failed grasp,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 as we have already talked about,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 that it is God who provides and sustains life.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 People are abusing our earth
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 and the land itself
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 because ultimately they're scared
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 that they won't have enough
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 or they want more than they need.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:31 and they don't trust that God will provide for them.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 It's not the land itself,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 nor the people who work it,
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 from which sustainability for life comes.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 It comes from the one
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 who's at the center of everything,
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 the Lord of life.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 As we live and exist in this world today,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 we ought to remember
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 the ground and who it belongs to.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 It belongs to God, not ours.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 And He, the Lord,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 is at the center of everything.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 Everything that we enjoy
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 producing the ground
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 comes from Him
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 who caused the ground to produce.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 The Sabbath year
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 stops the Israelite people
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 from getting out of control
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 on their consumption
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 and reminds them
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 of their creational mandate
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 to look after
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 and to take care of the ground.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 It reminds them to trust the Lord
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 who will provide for them
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 even if in a whole year
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 they don't work the ground.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:27 Indeed, as we read in chapter 25,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:28 God is gracious
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 in His abundance towards them
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 that they will have crop
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 into the eighth and ninth year.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 We are called to represent Him well,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 not just in community,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 but in the way we look after
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 and treat our earth.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 And so finally,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 from Leviticus 25,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:51 we see that Sabbath
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 promotes
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 the importance of rest
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 and freedom
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 as the goal of creation.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 The climax of Sabbath rest
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 comes in verse 28.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 Count off seven Sabbath years,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 seven times seven,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 so that the seven Sabbath years
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 amount to a period of 49 years.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 Then have the trumpet sound
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 everywhere on the tenth day
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 of the seventh month
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 on the Day of Atonement.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 Sound the trumpet
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 throughout your land.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Consecrate the 50th year
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 and proclaim liberty
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20 throughout the land
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 to all its inhabitants.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 It shall be a jubilee for you.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 Each of you is to return
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 to your family property
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 and to your own clan.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 The 50th year
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 shall be a jubilee for you.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 Do not sow
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 and do not reap
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 what grows of itself
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 or harvest
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 the unintended vines,
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 for it is a jubilee
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 and it is to be holy for you.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 Eat only what is taken
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 directly from the fields.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 In this year of jubilee,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 everyone is to return
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 to their property,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 their own property.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 The year of jubilee
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 was the climactic celebration
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 of the Sabbath.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 It encompassed elements
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 of the yearly Sabbath
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 and the weekly Sabbath
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 by bringing an exciting
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 new element as well.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 All your debts were cancelled.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 You had your property
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 returned to you.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 If you were a hired worker
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 or even a slave,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 you were freed.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 That sounds pretty good.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 The stipulations listed
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 for jubilee, though,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 weren't just for the sake
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 of everyone's individual joy
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 so we could take
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 what was ours
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 and, yes,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 get it back, finally.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 Because it meant,
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 for some,
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 giving back
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 and giving it up,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 losing their wealth.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 The day of jubilee
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 was the great equaliser.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 Or as Von and I
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 were discussing,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 she told me,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 it's the great reset button.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 For as years went on,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 some got richer
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 and some got poorer.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 To allow that divide
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 to get bigger
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 and bigger
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 was to run against
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 the grain of creation
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 that God had made us equal.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 And so,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 the return of property.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 Also,
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 as years went on,
00:17:58 --> 00:17:58 these poor people
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 may have had to
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 sell themselves for work,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 sell their property
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 to pay off debt
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 and to become hired hands.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 And so,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 they were freed
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 every 50 years
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 of their bondage
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 to debt and obligation.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 This day
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 and year of jubilee
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 remind the people
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 that they were created
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 by God
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 and they were owned
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 and belonged to God.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 That's the constant
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 line we see in Exodus.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 I will be your God
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 and you will be my people.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:32 that everything they have
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 is actually His
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 and it is His
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 to give back freely.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 That anyone who works for them,
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 indebted or even enslaved,
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 is also God's.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 Indeed,
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 as verse 54 says,
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 even if someone
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 is not redeemed
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 in any of these ways,
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 they and their children
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 are to be released
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 in the year of jubilee.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 They are my servants
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 whom I brought
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 out of Egypt.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 I am the Lord your God.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 The year of jubilee,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 this climactic
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 Sabbath
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 that happened every year,
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 lived up
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 to the idea
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 of sacred assembly.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 It protested
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 the idea
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 that the nation
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 of Israel
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 ought to be built
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 upon tribute
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 and forced labor
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 and state-imposed
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 slavery,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 which was so prevalent
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 in the nations
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 surrounding them.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 No,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 it pointed to the people
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 of God
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 and to the nations
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 around them.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 They were built
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 upon the Lord God
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 himself
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 and upon
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 his mercy
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 and grace,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 upon his
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 wonderful provision
00:19:35 --> 00:19:38 and that he would
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 dwell with them.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 Our world
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 is nothing like that.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 Our modern world
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 is nothing like that.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 In little things,
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 like if one is able
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 to get into the city market
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 alone
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 and buy a house,
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 you are obligated
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 yourself to a near-life,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 longer payment of debt,
00:19:56 --> 00:20:00 which will never be wiped.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 The divide between rich
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 and poor
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 has never been greater
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 than it is today
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 and will continue to grow
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 if generating
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 more and more wealth
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 is the goal
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 of our society.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 Most of the clothes
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 that we wear,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 we may not be aware,
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 but are made
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 in slave-like conditions,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 if not in slavery.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 I found out a few years ago
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 that the cocoa industry,
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 that is,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 to make chocolate,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 is rife with corruption
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 and slavery.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 80% of cocoa made
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 in our world
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 comes from one particular
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 place in Africa
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 and is one major supplier
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 that most of our brands
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 buy from,
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 brands like Nestle,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 and they use child slaves
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 to make and pick the cocoa.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 That's happening today.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 There's all kinds
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 of slavery as well
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 in the sex industry,
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 in all kinds of places.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 The principle
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 at the heart
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 of these stipulations
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 for the year of Jubilee
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 was the law
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 that summed up
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 the entire law
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 according to Jesus.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 Love the Lord
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 with all your heart,
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 mind,
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 strength,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 and love your neighbor
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 as yourself.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 It was a defining
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 law for them
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 that they wrote
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 that into their
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 moral code.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 And that's why
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 they sought
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 to look after the poor,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 to free the slayer.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 That's why
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 every 50 years
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 they had a year of Jubilee.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 If there was
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 a defining law
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 for us today
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 it would be this,
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 love yourself
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 with all your heart,
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 mind, and strength
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 and love your neighbor
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 if it benefits you.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 The whole point
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 of these repetitive
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 Sabbath celebrations
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 in their various forms
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 were not to stop
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 this from happening.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 So it was to stop
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 this from happening
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 for Israel.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 That they would not
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 end up loving themselves
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 and only caring
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 for themselves
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 but they would live out
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 a life of constant
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 worship
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 with God
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 in his presence
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 and looking out
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 for the poor
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 and those who were
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 mistreated
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 and the destitute.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 They would look
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 after the land
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 and they would live
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 for God
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 and obey him.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 Only then
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 would they enjoy
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 his presence
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 and blessing.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 But it didn't
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 take long
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 for them
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 to end up
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 living lives
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 that look
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 totally radically
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 different.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 To live
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 individually
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 and to live
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 in a way
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 that only
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 benefits themselves.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 It didn't take long
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 for their world
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 to look like
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 our world
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 did today,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 does today.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 And therefore
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 it did not take long
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 for them to suffer
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 the consequences
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 where they were
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 kicked out
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 of the land
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 into exile
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 just as Adam
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 and Eve
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 were kicked
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 out of the garden.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 But there is hope.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 Because Leviticus 25
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 is not just
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 a staving
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 perhaps critique
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 on our modern world
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 and our ideas
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 of rest
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 and work
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 but it also
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 gives us
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 an idea
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 of God's
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 intention
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 to dwell
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 with his people.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 He wants
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 to rest
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 and he wants
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 us to rest
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 with him.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 And it gives
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 us a picture
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 of how the gospel
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 impacts our world
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 and shapes
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 our community.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 The gospel
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 is not another
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 festival
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 or calendar
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 law for Sabbath
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 but it is the
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 climax
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 of all these
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 things.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 As you've been
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 reading it
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 there's a big
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 climax
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 that's the
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 weekly Sabbath
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 and it's the
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 seven yearly
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 Sabbath
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 and then after
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 seven years
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 Sabbath
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 there's the
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 year of Jubilee
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 and then we get
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 to the climax
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 in the gospels
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 where the
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 Lord
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 the Sabbath
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 himself
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 comes.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 Jesus
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 to bring
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 the kind
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 of rest
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 we've been
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 hoping for
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 here in
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 Leviticus.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 Leviticus
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 shows that
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 it is in
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 the gospel
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 that we can
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 rest from our
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 work and rest
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 in the work
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 of Jesus
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 to bring us
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 into a
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 relationship
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 with the
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 Father
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 that all
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 of us
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 who are
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 weary
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 and burdened
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 and heavy
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 laden
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 can enjoy
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 the rest
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 that Jesus
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 offers
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 when he
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 says come
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 to me
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 and I'll
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 give you
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 rest for
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 your souls.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 Leviticus
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 shows that
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 the gospel
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 encompasses
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 not only us
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 as individuals
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 or us
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 as a community
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 but the
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 whole of
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 creation
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 a salvation
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 that Jesus
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 has come
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 to bring
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 is for
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 the whole
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 world
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 it is
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 cosmic
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 in nature
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 which is
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 why creation
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 looks forward
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 to the
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 children of
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 God being
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 revealed
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 as Romans
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 8 says
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 for that
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 will be
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 a time
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 it will
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 enjoy
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 its own
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 redemption
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 and restoration
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 as well
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 and Leviticus
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 shows us
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 that the
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 gospel is a
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 call to
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 freedom
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 that we
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 who were
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 once slaves
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 to sin
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 now enjoy
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 the wonderful
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 freedom
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 of the
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 gospel
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 having been
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 redeemed
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 by God
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 through the
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 blood
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 of Jesus
00:24:41 --> 00:24:44 Jesus looks
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 at his
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 ministry
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 as a kind
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 of jubilee
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 type
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 when he
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 reads from
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 the scroll
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 of Isaiah
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 saying in
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 Luke 4
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 the spirit
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 of the
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 Lord is
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 on me
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 because he
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 has anointed
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 me to
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 proclaim
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 the good
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 news
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 to the
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 poor
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 he has
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 sent me
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 to proclaim
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 freedom
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 for the
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 prisoners
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 and recovery
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 of sight
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 for the
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 blind
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 to set
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 the oppressed
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 free
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 to proclaim
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 the year
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 of the
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 Lord's
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 favour
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 and then
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 he sits
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 down
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 and he
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 says
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 this
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 today
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 this
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 scripture
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 has been
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 fulfilled
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 in your
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 hearing
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 the
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 intentions
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 of Leviticus
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 to make
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 a way
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 for God's
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 people to
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 enjoy his
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 presence
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 is ultimately
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 realised
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 in Jesus
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 it is he
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 who fulfils
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 the laws
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 and requirements
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 for the
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 sabbath
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 and allows
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 for an
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 ongoing
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 eternal
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 sabbath
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 to happen
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 in him
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 for all
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 who believe
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 we don't
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 need to do
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 these laws
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 in Leviticus
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 to enjoy
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 rest
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 and the
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 presence
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 of God
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 but what
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 Leviticus
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 does
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 is it
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 shows us
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 what a
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 gospel
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 shaped
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 community
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 looks
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 like
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 a
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 gospel
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 shaped
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 community
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 doesn't
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 allow
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 work
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 to
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 consume
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 them
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 but
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 stops
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 in order
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 to rest
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 and remember
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 the wonderful
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 provision
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 of the
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 Lord
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 almighty
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 indeed
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 a
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 gospel
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 shaped
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 community
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 in its
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 desire
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 and care
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 to work
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 for the
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 creation
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 is not
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 to abuse
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 it
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 or to
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 pillage
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 it
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 or to
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 consume
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 it
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 but to
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 look
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 after
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 it
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 to take
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 care
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 of it
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 to bear
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 God's
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 image
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 as it's
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 been
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 worked
00:26:13 --> 00:26:16 representing
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 its value
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 well
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 before all
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 people
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 in the
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 wonderful
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 glory
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 of God
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 and finally
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 perhaps the
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 most
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 significant
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 gospel
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 shaping tool
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 Leviticus
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 offers us
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 is that
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 it is one
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 of loving
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 God
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 and caring
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 for the
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 poor
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 a
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 community
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 doesn't
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 see
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 themselves
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 as better
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 than the
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 other
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 but equal
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 in Jesus
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 who offers
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 salvation
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 to all
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 a community
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 doesn't
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 abuse
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 their power
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 over people
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 but who
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 remembers
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 that it is
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 God
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 who purchased
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 and redeemed
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 them
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 from their
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 sin
00:26:51 --> 00:26:54 a community
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 that seeks
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 to live
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 in harmony
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 with one
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 another
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 devoting
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 themselves
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 to the
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 Lord
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 in worship
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 as they
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 live out
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 their lives
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 in whatever
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 it is
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 that God
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 has called
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 them to do
00:27:04 --> 00:27:06 this
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 is the
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 shape
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 of rest
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 that
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 Leviticus
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 puts
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 forward
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 the
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 shape
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 of the
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 gospel
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 rest
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 that we
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 can
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 enjoy
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 from
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 what does
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 it look
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 like
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 to rest
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 in God
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 what does
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 it look
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 like to
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 have
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 Sabbath
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 in Jesus
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 it is
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 to live
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 as God's
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 people
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 in God's
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 place
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 enjoying
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 his blessing
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 and going
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 out from
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 here
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 and serving
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 him
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 and loving
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 him
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 in wherever
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 he has
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 placed you
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 you
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 remain
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 faithful
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 and always
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 been
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 thankful
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 for what
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 he has
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 done
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 for you
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 seeing
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 every bit
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 of work
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 that you
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 have
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 your house
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 your car
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 the food
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 you eat
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 has been
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 provided
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 by him
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 and him
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 alone
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 that is
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 what it
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 looks like
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 to enjoy
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 Sabbath
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 rest
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 in Jesus
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 and that is
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 what Leviticus
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 25
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 wants you
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 to see
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 here
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 but the
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 question
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 is
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 are we
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 such
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 a
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 community
00:27:53 --> 00:27:56 do we
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 love
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 and remember
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 that it
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 is God
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 who provides
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 and therefore
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02 the relativity
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 of work
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 do we
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 care for the
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 poor and the
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 destitute
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 in our
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 suburb
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 in our
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 city
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 do we
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 care for
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 our earth
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 that it
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 belongs to
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 God
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 and it's
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 created by
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 him
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 and given
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 to us
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 to take
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 care of
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 not to
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 consume
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 do we
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 not even
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 sometimes
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 share in
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 the guilt
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 of how
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 badly
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 we have
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 treated
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 it
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 and repent
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 of our
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 sin
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 do we
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 remember
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 that we
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 are not
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 of our
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 own
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 that we
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 were
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 bought
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 at a
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 price
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 and
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 therefore
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 hate
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 the
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 injustice
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 of
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 slavery
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 that we
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 see
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 in our
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 world
00:28:34 --> 00:28:36 do we
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 see each
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 other
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 here
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 who have
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 come from
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 all kinds
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 of backgrounds
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 of all
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 ages
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 on the
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 same
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 level
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 enjoying
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 equality
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 and love
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 before
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 God
00:28:45 --> 00:28:48 do we
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 continue
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 to repent
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 of our
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 sin
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 and seek
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 to live
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 in light
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 of this
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 gospel
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 Leviticus
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 asks these
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 questions of
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 us because
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 this is how
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 the gospel
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 impacts our
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 life
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 so in view
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 of all
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 this
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 has the
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 gospel
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 taken shape
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 in your
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 life in
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 such a
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 way
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 let's pray
00:29:13 --> 00:29:17 heavenly
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 father
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 you
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 great
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 thanks
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 and
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 praise
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 that
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 although
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 we
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 are
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 sinful
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 you
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 graciously
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 provide
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 a way
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 for us
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 to come
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 to know
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 you
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 in your
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 presence
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 we
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 thank you
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 lord
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 for your
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 son
00:29:28 --> 00:29:28 jesus
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 in whom
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 we
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 can
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 enjoy
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 an
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 eternal
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 sabbath
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 rest
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 beginning
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 now
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 and we
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 pray
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 father
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 that we
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 would not
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 think
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 lightly
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 on what
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 that
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 looks
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 like
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 but
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 that we
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 see
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 in
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 giving
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 us
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 rest
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 you
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 have
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 called
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 us
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 to live
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 the
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 life
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 that we
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 were
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 created
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 to live
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 to live
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 in
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 accordance
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 of your
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 creation
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 to live
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 in
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 accordance
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 of your
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 law
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 to live
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 in
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 accordance
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 of your
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 way
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 to love
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 those around
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 us
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52 to seek
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 justice
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 for our
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 land and
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 for people
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 who don't
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 have it
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 to love
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 each other
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 and to
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 live
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 to serve
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 you
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 we pray
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 all this
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 in your
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 son's
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 name
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 amen