The Real Jesus and the True Cost of Jubilee

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.
[00:00:58] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:01:17] Amen.
[00:01:30] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:02:00] Amen.
[00:02:01] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:02:12] Amen.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I don't think I've ever started something this early before.
[00:02:40] It's 1027, I guess we can start.
[00:02:43] Steve, can we start?
[00:02:44] Is it okay for us to start?
[00:02:45] Is it okay for us to start?
[00:02:46] Welcome!
[00:02:47] Welcome everyone to worship this morning at Prospect Presbyterian Church.
[00:02:51] We're glad everybody's here.
[00:02:53] And we pray this will be an opportunity for all of us to worship our Lord in spirit and in truth.
[00:02:58] The announcements are there for your consideration.
[00:03:01] So we got Advent, all the Advent stuff, all the Christmas stuff coming.
[00:03:07] So we are inviting everybody and attend to that as you can.
[00:03:16] Let us now prepare our hearts and minds for the worship of our Lord.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
... ... ... ... ...
[00:04:20] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:49] Amen.
[00:04:51] Let us pray.
[00:05:20] Let us pray.
[00:05:44] Let us pray.
[00:05:51] Let us pray.
[00:06:24] 1.
[00:07:15] Let us pray.
[00:07:51] Let us pray.

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Lovely.
[00:08:25] Thank you, ma'am.
[00:08:26] We will now have the lighting of our first Advent candle.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
As we watch for the dawn of a brighter day, a candle of hope lights the way.
[00:09:17] As we look for the signs of the promised birth of our Savior who brings heaven to earth.
[00:09:43] Lord, we are waiting for His new reign.
[00:09:45] Lord, we are listening for love's refrain For hope, peace, and joy, and love to unite In the beauty and wonder
[00:10:09] of Advent's holy light.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Our Advent journey begins today with the lighting of the first candle, the candle of hope.
[00:10:37] Like the flame of a candle, may hope be ignited in our hearts, reminding us that brighter days are ahead.

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
For those of us facing difficult challenges, ignite our hearts with hope.
[00:10:51] For the end of wars wreaking havoc and pain in our world, ignite our hearts with hope.
[00:10:58] For safety for those fleeing the tyranny of oppression, ignite our hearts with hope.
[00:11:05] For the light of forgiveness to shine in our hearts,

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Gracious Creator, in moments of uncertainty, we turn to you with hearts heavy but hopeful.
[00:11:20] Grant us the strength to navigate challenges, the wisdom to see possibilities, and the courage to embrace the journey ahead.
[00:11:28] May hope be our guiding light, leading us to a future filled with grace, love, and possibilities beyond our imagination.
[00:11:38] Amen.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Lord, we are waiting for peace to reign Lord, we are listening for love's refrain
[00:12:16] For hope, peace, and joy, and love to unite in the beauty and wonder of Adam's holy light.
[00:12:42] Thank you friends.

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us pray together.
[00:13:15] Almighty and everlasting God, we start the Advent journey.
[00:13:18] We're thankful to be on it.
[00:13:21] We pray in this Sunday of worship, your Holy Spirit would be with us to enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth.
[00:13:30] We pray for forgiveness of our sins.
[00:13:33] We pray you would change us into the people you want us to be.
[00:13:39] We pray we can show our gratitude for the life and forgiveness we have received with obedience to your commandments.
[00:13:46] To love you with our whole heart and mind and soul and to love our neighbors we love ourselves.
[00:13:51] And we pray your Holy Spirit will be with us throughout the week that we might worship you with the way we live.
[00:14:01] Be with us now and in the week ahead we pray humbly through Jesus Christ our Lord and hear us now please as we pray together the prayer our Lord taught his disciples.
[00:14:11] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:14:17] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:14:23] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
[00:14:31] And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
[00:14:37] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[00:14:42] Amen.
[00:14:43] Our opening hymn for the morning is 123.
[00:14:45] Let's stand together as we sing 123.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
of the Emmanuel, and handsome and dear Israel, that mourns in holy exile here, until the Son of God appear,
[00:15:33] Rejoice!

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Rejoice!
[00:15:48] Emmanuel shall come to thee.
[00:15:58] and Trinity.
[00:16:05] Our spirits by thy hand.

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Rejoice!

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Emmanuel shall come to thee.

[00:17:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Rejoice!

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Rejoice!
[00:17:31] Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All the world in heaven sings.

[00:18:27] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Rejoice!
[00:18:27] Rejoice!

[00:18:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
[00:18:28] Please be seated, friends.
[00:18:32] And let us pray together.
[00:18:37] Almighty God, a great privilege it is for us to lift up to you the concerns, joys, hopes of our hearts, specifically in this time of prayer for those in need.
[00:18:51] And so we pray first that your church would address the great need of humanity, which is
[00:18:59] The knowledge and living of the gospel of Jesus Christ and we pray for your church's ability, our congregation's ability, your church throughout the community and the world's ability to communicate the gospel, to live it, to demonstrate it, to live lives that draw people to you.
[00:19:14] Holy Spirit be at work in us to that end.
[00:19:17] Enable us to have a hope, an explanation for the hope that is in us to anyone who asks and help us live a salt and light in this world.
[00:19:31] For our friends at Southside Baptist Church this morning, for their work, among other churches in the community and throughout this country and world, bless and prosper them.
[00:19:40] And it's an honor for us to be brothers and sisters with them.
[00:19:45] Prosper them.
[00:19:46] Our missionaries, Justin and Kristen, Rob and Sandy, we pray for them, among others on the mission field.
[00:19:54] And then we also lift up those who are carrying burdens.
[00:19:57] Hungry, thirsty, lonely, sick, imprisoned, grieving, doubting, afraid, anxious.
[00:20:08] And we pray we could hear the words of Paul to bear their burdens with them and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
[00:20:15] Remind us of how blessed we are, remind us of how thankful we are, remind us of the plenty we have.
[00:20:23] The plenty of love, the plenty of forgiveness.
[00:20:27] The plenty of material goods that we might share, all these things among others, and help other people carry their burdens.
[00:20:35] Help us give of our wisdom and time our love.
[00:20:40] To be like Jesus Christ in that way.
[00:20:45] This morning we pray for the Redling family, for Dale and Laura, and the passing of Dale's mother, Joyce, over the weekend.
[00:20:54] Bless them.
[00:20:57] We thank you for her Christian witness among us.
[00:21:00] Bless that family, please.
[00:21:07] We appreciate the blessing.
[00:21:09] Help us love being your servants.
[00:21:11] Help us love being generous.
[00:21:13] Help us love working hard for you.
[00:21:16] Enable us to see everyone we encounter as one for whom Jesus Christ thought was worthy of dying for.
[00:21:26] Everyone we meet Jesus thought was worth dying for.
[00:21:29] Help us treat people accordingly.
[00:21:34] Let that rule our hearts.
[00:21:35] Let that rule our eyes and our minds as we interact with the people around us.
[00:21:42] Help us give you praise and honor by the way we live.
[00:21:45] We pray humbly through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:21:48] Amen.

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Wonderful, merciful Savior Precious Redeemer and Friend Who would have thought that our land
[00:22:45] Rescued the souls of man.
[00:22:51] Oh, you rescued the souls of man.
[00:23:04] Counselor, Converter, Keeper Spirit we long to embrace You offer hope when our hearts have
[00:23:25] Hopelessly lost our way Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way
[00:23:40] You are the one that we praise You are the one we adore You give the healing and grace our
[00:24:01] Our hearts always hunger for.
[00:24:08] Oh, our hearts always hunger for.

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In Jesus' name, amen.

[00:24:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Almighty, infinite Father Faithfully loving Your own Here in our weakness You'll find us
[00:25:12] Falling before your throne.
[00:25:17] Oh, we're falling before your throne.
[00:25:26] You are the one that we praise You are the one we adore You give the healing and grace of
[00:25:46] Our hearts always hunger for Oh, our hearts always hunger for You are the one that we praise
[00:26:07] You are the one we adore You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for Oh, our hearts always hunger
[00:26:37] of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Would invite, please, both Starin and Tom Labonte to join me at the front of the church.
[00:27:33] Friends, today is a great day in the life of this church.
[00:27:36] Star Ann Labonte, known to many of you for she and Tom's prior service and love of this congregation.
[00:27:46] Star Ann has expressed a desire to join this congregation as a member.
[00:27:51] Tom is here standing in support of her.
[00:27:54] Tom, an ordained pastor like myself, is technically a member of Presbytery, but they've both been very gracious about their love for this congregation, and he is asked to stand up with her in support, and I'm certainly glad that he's doing that.
[00:28:12] So we receive now Star Ann by transfer of letter from Bethel Presbyterian Church.
[00:28:19] And so we are honored to do so.
[00:28:20] So, Star Ann, I have two questions for you to answer before God and these witnesses.
[00:28:25] First, do you take this opportunity to reaffirm your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
[00:28:31] And secondly, do you desire to live out that faith as a member of Prospect Presbyterian Church?
[00:28:36] And as a member, do you promise to be a faithful participant in the life and the worship and the work and the ministry of this congregation?
[00:28:45] Friends, as we said, Starin is giving us the great privilege of being her church family, so now there's a question to the congregation.
[00:28:52] As always, technically this is a question to the congregation of Prospect Presbyterian Church.
[00:28:57] However, if you are a member of the body of Christ and feel moved to lend your support and your affirmation here, don't hesitate.
[00:29:05] We're all on the same team.
[00:29:07] The question to the Prospect Presbyterian Church.
[00:29:10] Do you receive Star Ann into membership of this congregation?
[00:29:14] And do you promise to love her and pray for her and work with her and take care of her as the sister in Christ that she is?
[00:29:22] If you do, please respond by saying, I do.

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
I do.

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let us pray together.
[00:29:30] O my everlasting God for the church, we give you thanks.
[00:29:33] In perfect as it is, it is your bride, and we are honored to be part of it.
[00:29:40] And we pray this congregation of your church could be faithful.
[00:29:44] We could be faithful in getting the gospel out.
[00:29:46] We could be faithful in taking care of people.
[00:29:48] We could be faithful in demonstrating the kingdom of God to the world.
[00:29:53] And we thank you that you have added two great people to this work here at Prospect.
[00:29:59] And pray you would bless them and keep them as they serve here and enable this congregation to love them and take care of them.
[00:30:10] We thank you for the privilege of being your people.
[00:30:13] We thank you for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
[00:30:15] Holy Spirit, enable us to love well and serve well and make you proud.
[00:30:20] We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:30:23] Amen.
[00:30:39] All right, it's a two-step premium hunger offering.
[00:30:42] It looks like Will and Allison are going to get their steps in today.
[00:30:45] We thank you for that, Will and Allison.
[00:30:47] So the children are going to come, although children of all ages can participate if they'd like.
[00:30:53] But it is our tradition that the youngsters of our congregation collect this offering.
[00:30:57] And so this will go to, in part, supporting the continuing ministry of Sister to Sister, their feeding programs.
[00:31:06] Half will go to that, half will go to Feed and See, the local Morsel Soup Kitchen, for its work here.
[00:31:13] So as the youngsters come by, you can drop your two-cent per meal offering in the buckets, and then the grown-ups will be coming by with the regular offering.
[00:31:22] So let's take this opportunity to consider all our many blessings and how we may use them in the service of our Lord.

[00:32:38] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
and more.
[00:33:10] Let us pray.

[00:34:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Let us pray.

[00:34:58] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[00:35:19] Praise Him all who rejoice in Him alone.
[00:35:19] Praise Him all who

[00:35:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Please be seated.

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Scripture for the morning is taken from the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 4.
[00:35:50] We'll begin to read at verse 16.
[00:35:52] It's Advent season.
[00:35:55] So we're getting ready for Christmas.
[00:35:57] So some opening thoughts on why Christmas is important.
[00:36:04] Who is this guy?
[00:36:04] What is he doing?
[00:36:05] What's he about?
[00:36:06] He seems like a big deal.
[00:36:09] Who is this Jesus?
[00:36:11] The Christian faith says if you want to know what God is like, if you want to know what God thinks,
[00:36:16] If you want to look at things the way God wants you to look at them, if you want to please God, then you need to look at Jesus.
[00:36:24] The number one way to understand what God is thinking, what God wants, is the person and work of Jesus Christ.
[00:36:31] Christmas is God presenting His case that He can be known.
[00:36:36] God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ in a language that we can understand.
[00:36:46] God is sending a person, not merely information.
[00:36:51] My daughter Laura, when she was in high school, played on a travel volleyball team.
[00:36:57] They went all over various places in the southeast, and she was kind of new to this whole thing.
[00:37:01] Somehow had made it to the 11th grade without playing travel sports.
[00:37:06] And in the 11th grade, joined a travel volleyball team.
[00:37:09] And she had this great coach.
[00:37:10] She was a former coach at East Tennessee State, kind of college nearby.
[00:37:14] And she was a great coach.
[00:37:17] And she...
[00:37:20] Dale is her name, still is her name, female coach, Dale.
[00:37:25] And at the first parent meeting where we attended, this is the first rule.
[00:37:34] There will be no drama on this team.
[00:37:39] And then there were like nine sub-points under that.
[00:37:43] And the first sub-point under that was, I thought this was fantastic.
[00:37:51] She said, if you want to encourage people, if you want to praise people, then please use all means of communication that you would like.
[00:38:01] Call them, write them, say something to them face-to-face, text them, email them.
[00:38:06] If you want to encourage the team or one of your teammates or the child of your, you know, your child's friend as for the parent, send any form of communication you would like.
[00:38:15] However, if you have a complaint,
[00:38:20] About playing time, about how somebody's being treated.
[00:38:24] She says, keep all those to yourself.
[00:38:28] But if you need to register those, you will register them to me, the coach, in person.
[00:38:38] If it is not big enough for you to say in person, if you don't have the guts to say it in person, then it doesn't count.
[00:38:51] And it's like, well, I'll just send you a text.
[00:38:53] Text doesn't have tone.
[00:38:55] Text doesn't have body language.
[00:38:57] Text doesn't have the chance for me to really respond face-to-face.
[00:39:01] If you want it to be real, it has to be in person.
[00:39:08] A, I thought that was fantastic for a coach to say.
[00:39:11] And B, I said, I'm going to use that in a sermon one day, probably at Christmas, all right?
[00:39:19] God wants to see you in person.
[00:39:22] Christianity is not primarily a set of laws.
[00:39:25] Christianity is not primarily about a set of teachings even.
[00:39:28] Christianity is about a person and what that person did and how that person loves you and challenges you and demands from you the way only a person can.
[00:39:42] And I would argue, friends, when we talk about witnessing
[00:39:46] When we talk about spreading the gospel, what your friends and what your family who are unbelievers need the most is exposure to a person who has met the person of Jesus Christ.
[00:40:02] What your friends and family and the world need, what the unbelievers of the world need, they could stand some fussing at, that's fine, they could stand some challenge, they could stand some teaching, all that will come in time.
[00:40:15] The primary thing they need is exposure to the character and the power that resides in a person who has a personal relationship with the real person, Jesus Christ.
[00:40:29] And the more we can develop that,
[00:40:33] And the second thing that we understand is you are living under a person, you are living under a king.
[00:40:41] The written down laws are just an invitation to squeeze out, you know, the stories are to squeeze out on the law.
[00:40:50] What's the least I have to do?
[00:40:51] What's the most I can get away with?
[00:40:53] That's what we do with the laws.
[00:40:56] What's the least I have to do?
[00:40:57] What's the most I can get away with?
[00:40:59] With the stories, we take them and shape them and turn them into what we want the story to say.
[00:41:04] That's what we do with stories.
[00:41:08] With a person, it's much harder.
[00:41:11] You gotta look him in the eye.
[00:41:13] You gotta have the courage to look him in the eye, so to speak.
[00:41:15] One day you will look him in the eye.
[00:41:20] You're being taken over by a king.
[00:41:22] You're being taken under the arms of a shepherd.
[00:41:26] You're walking alongside one who says, my brother, my sister, who calls you his friends.
[00:41:33] Christmas is about us letting, quote unquote, letting Jesus Christ define himself.
[00:41:41] Letting God define himself.
[00:41:43] Because when we want to take over control of the definition, we will use him.
[00:41:48] We will make him into who we want him to be.
[00:41:52] Brief interlude.
[00:41:54] Everybody who's seen Talladega Nights?
[00:41:57] Everybody who's seen The Blessing Before Talladega Nights?
[00:41:59] You know exactly what we're talking about here, where this family's gathered together and it's like, hey, I like to think of Jesus like this, wearing a tuxedo t-shirt.
[00:42:07] I like to think of Jesus like this at a rock concert.
[00:42:10] I like to think of Jesus as some sort of viperous animal.
[00:42:14] I like to think of Jesus the way I like to think of Jesus.
[00:42:17] Well, you know how you like to think of Jesus?
[00:42:18] You and I like to think of Jesus as the Jesus who is what we want, what we need, and never tells us no.
[00:42:27] And that is not the real Jesus.
[00:42:29] We want a Jesus who just kind of takes care of us and doesn't challenge us.
[00:42:33] And people are going, I thought this was Christmas.
[00:42:35] I thought this was going to be nice today.
[00:42:37] All right?
[00:42:39] Do you want the real Jesus or not?
[00:42:42] Do you have the guts to look at the real Jesus in the face?
[00:42:47] Because you will one day.
[00:42:50] Will I let him define himself or will I follow somebody that I made up, that I shape or use or misuse or selectively read for my own purposes and my own ease?
[00:43:05] And you know that's annoying because you get into arguments with people.
[00:43:10] Some of you do.
[00:43:12] You get into arguments and disagreements with people and then they... Don't you hate it when you say something and they take your words or they take what you did and they twist it and change it for their own purposes that has nothing to do with the truth.
[00:43:28] They're just using it to win, to get their way.
[00:43:31] Doesn't that annoy you?
[00:43:36] Meet the real Jesus.
[00:43:37] Interact with the real Jesus.
[00:43:40] Because if you don't,
[00:43:46] There are all kinds of reasons why we feel at times apart from God.
[00:43:53] There are all kinds of reasons.
[00:43:55] Part of it's life, part of it's our sin.
[00:43:57] There's all kinds of reasons.
[00:43:59] But one of them is, one of the reasons why I, we, occasionally do not feel close to Jesus Christ is because the real Jesus is standing right there, so to speak.
[00:44:14] But we don't want to interact with the real Jesus.
[00:44:16] If you don't want to interact with the real Jesus, then don't be surprised when your relationship with him is unsatisfying.
[00:44:24] Just like if someone came to me and said, you know, I know who you are, Will, but I like to think of you in a completely different way.
[00:44:32] And it's like, well, that's not who I am.
[00:44:36] It's hard for us to have a real relationship.
[00:44:38] It's hard for you and I to have a real relationship with somebody if we will not embrace who they really are.
[00:44:45] So that will be one of our projects for Advent.
[00:44:47] And then when it's New Year's, it'll be one of our projects for the next 52 weeks after that to kind of find out who the real Jesus is.
[00:44:54] So let's see how Jesus begins to define himself in his adult ministry.
[00:44:59] This is Luke's account of the first thing Jesus does in his adult ministry.
[00:45:07] This is Luke 4.
[00:45:08] We're just going to read the first five verses through verse 21.
[00:45:11] We'll save the other verses for another day.
[00:45:13] He, Jesus, came to Nazareth...
[00:45:15] Where he had been brought up, as was his custom, he went to the synagogue.
[00:45:20] I'd just like to pause here.
[00:45:21] Thank you for being here.
[00:45:23] Did you see that?
[00:45:29] Jesus goes to church regularly.
[00:45:32] He went to the synagogue as was his custom.
[00:45:40] He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
[00:45:47] This is a direct quote of Isaiah 61 verses 1 and 2.
[00:45:53] The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him and he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written.
[00:45:59] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
[00:46:06] He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and here is the most important phrase for today's sermon, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:46:27] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
[00:46:33] And all the eyes in the synagogue were fixed upon him.
[00:46:36] And after the preacher gave this big introduction of how we need to follow Jesus and do exactly what Jesus does, Jesus then gives a one-sentence sermon, which unfortunately you are not going to get today.
[00:46:49] Here is the sermon.
[00:46:53] This day, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
[00:46:59] That ends the reading of God's Word for the morning.
[00:47:01] Let us pray together.
[00:47:04] Almighty and everlasting God, we are privileged as always to be under the Word, and we pray that your Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that inspired the recording of these words, we pray He, your Holy Spirit, will now be in our hearts and minds and souls to teach us what the Word has to say and to enable us to live as the Word teaches.
[00:47:26] Focus us then not on our flesh,
[00:47:29] But upon your body and our place in it, we pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[00:47:35] Amen.
[00:47:41] and said all these things about the poor and the captives and whatnot and he says I'm here to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and what people of that time knew how they would have heard those words that those words seem to be a little open-ended to us what the people of that time would have heard according to every biblical scholar commentator is that he is referencing what is known in the Old Testament as the year of Jubilee we sing about it occasionally in a song the year of Jubilee
[00:48:12] And that is every 50 years.
[00:48:16] Let me back up.
[00:48:17] Something's going to happen in 50 years.
[00:48:19] When the Israelites came across the Jordan and took over the Promised Land and won the Promised Land, there's a big long section in the Bible which people often skip.
[00:48:28] Let me summarize it for you.
[00:48:30] There's a place after the people of God take the Promised Land where there's all this detail about how every family gets a portion of land in the Promised Land.
[00:48:38] They go to the tribes, and they go to the clans, and they go to the families, and every family unit in the Old Testament family gets a portion of land, and that is their land.
[00:48:52] Okay?
[00:48:55] Now here's what happens to some people.
[00:48:58] Some people make mistakes.
[00:49:00] Some people do stupid things.
[00:49:03] Some people are afflicted by drought or their crops don't grow well or something.
[00:49:10] And they had to sell their land or occasionally sell themselves into service.
[00:49:16] This is acceptable in the Bible.
[00:49:21] God gave everybody land so that everybody could work.
[00:49:26] If we'll remember the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 that kind of shapes the entire Bible.
[00:49:33] He says to Abraham, I'm going to give you a land and I'm going to make you a blessing and a source of blessing.
[00:49:38] And I would argue that when God distributes the land to all the people of Israel, he's giving them their own piece of the land, their own fulfillment as the people of Abraham, of the promise of Abraham.
[00:49:51] And it is the source where they can receive blessing and then go out and give and be a blessing.
[00:49:56] With their work, just like you are a blessing with your work, whatever it is.
[00:50:03] So when drought came to parts of the land or people made mistakes or people were just stupid and made bad decisions and lost their land, sold their land, sold themselves into service.
[00:50:16] There is a thing in the Bible, you can read all about it in Leviticus 25.
[00:50:21] It's a very, very interesting thing in the middle of Leviticus there.
[00:50:25] Every 50 years, everyone who sold themselves into service to pay their debts and everyone who sold their land to pay their debts got their freedom back and their land back for free.
[00:50:43] That is the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:50:46] That is the year of the Jubilee.
[00:50:49] And here's what Jesus Christ says.
[00:50:52] The Jubilee, that's me.
[00:50:53] That's what I came to do.
[00:50:55] One sentence.
[00:50:57] Here's one promise of the Bible.
[00:50:59] He said to everyone around him then, and he says to everyone in this room, and he says to everyone who will listen, you are in debt.
[00:51:10] Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
[00:51:13] You are in debt to God.
[00:51:15] You are in debt.
[00:51:16] And here is what Jesus says, I am the freedom.
[00:51:19] I am the forgiveness of your debt.
[00:51:21] You may go free.
[00:51:22] Every 50 years or so, you know what that turns into?
[00:51:26] Once in a lifetime.
[00:51:29] This is, for most people, a once in a lifetime offer.
[00:51:34] Your debts are cleared.
[00:51:37] The offer Jesus makes when he says, Who am I?
[00:51:40] Who is this guy?
[00:51:41] Here's the first thing he says in Luke.
[00:51:43] I'm the Jubilee in person for everybody.
[00:51:46] Not just about your land, about everything.
[00:51:48] About your eternity.
[00:51:50] All that stupid stuff, all that bad stuff you did, forgiven.
[00:51:55] Everybody owes.
[00:51:59] The question is not, friends, this is for you, this is for anybody you want to talk about the gospel with,
[00:52:07] The question is not, do you have guilt?
[00:52:13] You do, and you know it.
[00:52:17] The question is not, do you have guilt?
[00:52:19] The question is, what are you going to do with your guilt?
[00:52:21] And the great good news of the gospel is, you may come laid at the foot of the cross.
[00:52:27] And the one who not only says the Jubilee, says, I am the Jubilee.
[00:52:31] I am the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:52:37] I will forgive you and welcome you back because see the land was this is your piece of the family you're in the family when you came across and we divide God says I'm dividing out the promised land among the families you're in the family you can never lose your place in the family because of stupidity because of bad luck because of evil intent you cannot lose your place if you will come back and embrace the Jubilee
[00:53:05] The Bible is not, they got to the promised land and lived happily ever after.
[00:53:09] The Bible is not, they got born, they got blessed, and they lived happily ever after.
[00:53:14] They got into debt.
[00:53:19] We are in debt to God.
[00:53:21] We are in debt to others.
[00:53:23] And Jesus says, I am forgiving you and empowering you to know how to forgive and know how to be forgiven.
[00:53:30] This is the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:53:34] Now here's what's interesting about this in real life.
[00:53:40] When the year of Jubilee comes, there are three kinds of people.
[00:53:43] There are three groups of people.
[00:53:47] And I don't know what the breakdown is.
[00:53:48] I don't think we can assess what the breakdown was.
[00:53:51] It was probably 10%, 80%, 10%, or 20%, 60%, 20%, something like that.
[00:53:58] Let's go ahead and do the big middle, get the big middle knocked out.
[00:54:01] The big middle is people who neither are in debt from the land perspective, hadn't sold themselves into servitude, hadn't sold their land, nor did they own any extra land, or did they have such debts of other people.
[00:54:14] They were just kind of finding their way.
[00:54:17] But the 10% on each side
[00:54:21] The 20% on each side, whatever the percentage was, of the people who had sold their land, of the people who had sold themselves into service, or the people who had received the land and were getting profit from it, or had given money and received profit from people's service, here's the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:54:42] All you who are in debt, you're forgiven.
[00:54:44] They're like, I understand that this is the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:54:50] The people who had the extra land and the extra workers and had to turn them loose for free, how do they feel about that?
[00:55:04] How do you feel about that?
[00:55:08] It's the year of the Lord's favor?
[00:55:09] Woo!
[00:55:10] All right?
[00:55:12] We went to Disney World this week.
[00:55:15] We were in the park ten minutes.
[00:55:21] Young Leo and his representatives had to have something.
[00:55:24] And it was fantastic.
[00:55:27] I'm not saying it wasn't fantastic.
[00:55:29] There's a little Buzz Lightyear, one of his favorites, on a little stick.
[00:55:36] And you pressed a button and bubbles flew out.
[00:55:39] And it's Disney World.
[00:55:39] It's big time.
[00:55:41] It wasn't just a couple.
[00:55:41] It was a thousand bubbles.
[00:55:47] We get there, it's like Amber, my awesome daughter-in-law, even more awesome after our week together, watching her work, awesome, was reaching in her pocket, we got this, you know, she had her purse in her bag, all that, we got this, she goes, you're going to have a heart attack, Pops.
[00:56:02] I said, I've been here before.
[00:56:03] 42 American dollars later.
[00:56:13] It was the year of Leo's Jubilee.
[00:56:15] All right.
[00:56:21] Nobody has Jubilee for free.
[00:56:30] Nobody has Jubilee for free.
[00:56:33] There's 60 or 80% that are in the middle just watching.
[00:56:37] There's 10 or 20% or whatever the number is that are like, whoo!
[00:56:43] And there's 10 or 20% that are saying, I will pay for the Jubilee.
[00:56:51] I will pay for the Jubilee because I remember when God delivered us out of slavery in Egypt.
[00:56:58] That's me.
[00:56:59] That was hundreds of years beforehand, but that's me.
[00:57:01] That's what the Old Testament says.
[00:57:02] That's me.
[00:57:04] I remember when God gave me my promised land for free.
[00:57:08] I don't own it.
[00:57:09] There's another great spot in Leviticus that says, you don't own the land, I own the land, God says.
[00:57:15] You are only being generous with someone else's money now.
[00:57:21] I remember when God prospered me in the Promised Land for free.
[00:57:28] Didn't have to do that.
[00:57:28] God didn't have to do that.
[00:57:30] I remember when I worked hard and God gave me the ability to work hard.
[00:57:40] Somebody pays for the Jubilee.
[00:57:45] And here is the challenge of being a Christian.
[00:57:46] Here is the challenge of Jesus being who you want, not who you want him to be, but who he is.
[00:57:51] He says to his people at times, I have a plan for everybody.
[00:58:00] Everybody who wants to be a part, I have a plan.
[00:58:04] And there will be times in your life when you're just watching me work.
[00:58:10] And there will be times when you are receiving
[00:58:15] And there will be times when I'm going to tap you on the shoulder and say, they're hungry, they're thirsty, they're lost, there are missionaries that need to go out, there's justice that needs to be done, and I'm tapping you on the shoulder and saying, it's time for you to be part of my work.
[00:58:34] And Jesus says, if you want to know the real me, you will embrace them.
[00:58:41] And if you want to have a real relationship with him,
[00:58:45] You will not just say, I'm fine with this when it's time for me to be in the middle that's doing nothing.
[00:58:51] Fine with that, just staying in my lane as we say.
[00:58:55] Or I'm fine to be on the receiving end.
[00:59:01] We are ready to be tapped on the shoulder when people are stupid, when people are unlucky,
[00:59:13] Not lucky enough to be as smart as we are.
[00:59:16] Not lucky enough to be born into what we were born in.
[00:59:18] Not lucky enough or even smart enough to work the way we worked.
[00:59:23] When God taps you on the shoulder and says, I want you to read my Bible, I want you to read what I say, I want you to read who I am, and I want you, and here's the big one, God says, I want you to see the joy of my Jubilee.
[00:59:37] God says, I want you to see how much joy I, God, have.
[00:59:42] In my Jubilee, when people are set free, when they're set free and they're given another chance and they're reset and in our world may be given their first chance or given another chance.
[01:00:02] God says to us, if you want to know the real me, I want you to see how I came in on your sin and I forgave it.
[01:00:08] For the joy set before me, I went to the cross, Jesus said, and I want you to feel that joy when I tap you on the shoulder and say, you're in the third group today in the year of Jubilee.
[01:00:25] And I would argue that Jesus Christ wants us to know that we have already gotten
[01:00:31] In our salvation, in our blessing, in all the things.
[01:00:37] We have already gotten more than we have ever earned and more than we can repay.
[01:00:44] Because Jesus did save us from our, quote, bad luck.
[01:00:47] He saved us from our stupidity.
[01:00:49] He saved us from our sin.
[01:00:56] We all, you know, we look at those people
[01:00:59] That got the land and got the people who were smart.
[01:01:04] And there's two things I want us to know about the people who got the land and who got the extra work and were smart and are doing well because they're smart and good, most of them, in this made-up biblical story of mine.
[01:01:20] And we look at them.
[01:01:24] And I would like for you to see two things.
[01:01:27] This is my own interpretation.
[01:01:29] Happy to discuss it later.
[01:01:31] One is, after they turn those people loose and after they turn that land loose, you know what they'll be?
[01:01:37] They'll be fine.
[01:01:40] Because God has provided for them.
[01:01:44] When they turn loose of it, they will be fine.
[01:01:50] And all these other people who are not fine become fine.
[01:01:55] When we turn loose of it,
[01:01:58] When we turn loose of the money, when we turn loose of the forgiveness, when we turn loose of our time and our love, when we turn loose of it, we will be fine.
[01:02:07] They will be fine.
[01:02:12] And the second thing I would like for us to see is to make sure you're chasing the correct more.
[01:02:22] My brother brought home, back in the olden times,
[01:02:26] When people went to the movie theater.
[01:02:27] And that's the only way you can see a movie.
[01:02:29] Like in the olden times.
[01:02:31] And I remember one time he got one of the... Because here's one of the great things, you buy the giant popcorn that's this big, alright?
[01:02:36] And he came home with a bucket of the giant popcorn.
[01:02:40] And in big movie letters with all these colors, it said, Big is more.
[01:02:46] I don't know why that struck us all so funny, but it did.
[01:02:48] And he kept that for years and we put stuff in it.
[01:02:50] Big is more.
[01:02:56] We all want more.
[01:03:00] And you know what?
[01:03:02] That's fine.
[01:03:04] Chase more.
[01:03:06] It's which more?
[01:03:11] I think God has put it in you to want to be great.
[01:03:13] He's put it into us to want to be great.
[01:03:15] To want more.
[01:03:18] The question is which more?
[01:03:21] The year of Jubilee gives these people on the third group that's giving it up, gives them a choice.
[01:03:27] Do you want more stuff?
[01:03:28] Do you want more status?
[01:03:28] Do you want more control?
[01:03:29] Do you want more ease?
[01:03:31] Do you want more of that?
[01:03:34] Or do you want more faithfulness?
[01:03:35] Do you want to be more like Christ?
[01:03:37] And if I could dare say it, do you want more real joy in being like God wants us to be, in being like Jesus wants us to be?
[01:03:46] who for the joy set before him went to the cross.
[01:03:49] More joy.
[01:03:52] We all want more.
[01:03:55] Jesus says, I've come to show you that I set you free to have more.
[01:03:59] And here's the other thing I came to show you.
[01:04:01] Jesus said, I am the year of Jubilee.
[01:04:03] I'm coming to show you which more to chase.
[01:04:08] You are going to chase more.
[01:04:12] If you want to look Jesus in the eye,
[01:04:15] And listen when he says, this is the more I want you to chase.
[01:04:21] To admit you're a sinner and get the Jubilee, and when I tap you on the shoulder and say, go be the servants and the instruments of my Jubilee in this world, that you say, yes sir, glad to sir.
[01:04:34] Because this is the Jesus we're following.
[01:04:36] Because this is the Jesus who showed up.
[01:04:39] He is the Jubilee.
[01:04:41] And he lets us do the work of the Jubilee.
[01:04:43] and he saves us from our dead in sin which keeps us out of the Jubilee and he lets us be loving and generous and faithful and incredible witnesses so we can have more joy of the Jubilee.
[01:04:57] We're all chasing more.
[01:05:01] Choose your more well and trust the one who came and died for you to tell you which is the correct more.
[01:05:12] Let's pray together.
[01:05:18] Almighty and everlasting God, follow then please the preaching of your word with the blessing of your Holy Spirit.
[01:05:25] Where if because of human error in the preacher, there may be something false or misleading in the preaching, cause the error that he has brought to do no harm, to be forgotten and do no harm.
[01:05:37] But if your Holy Spirit in this process has brought truth, let the truth that you have brought be burned into our hearts and minds and souls.
[01:05:47] That your truth might lead us in the everlasting way.
[01:05:50] We pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[01:05:53] Amen.
[01:05:56] Jesus said, He who acknowledges me before the world, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
[01:06:02] We acknowledge Jesus Christ to be our Lord by the way we live, day in, day out.
[01:06:08] That we might remember this responsibility and we might practice doing it.
[01:06:11] We stand together in church and say the words of the Apostles' Creed.
[01:06:13] So let's do that now.
[01:06:14] Let's stand together, please.
[01:06:18] And before God in the world, let us confess in whom we believe.
[01:06:23] I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
[01:06:42] He descended into hell.
[01:06:45] The third day he rose again from the dead.
[01:06:48] He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[01:06:54] From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[01:06:58] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[01:07:11] Amen.
[01:07:11] Our final hymn is 124.

[01:07:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
From the law expected Jesus Born to set the people free
[01:07:45] Jesus, let us find our rest in thee.

[01:08:08] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Israel's strength and consolation, Lo, how holy on earth thou art!
[01:08:15] All my people to deliver All my children get a gift Come to me

[01:08:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and Reconciliation, Reconciliation and Reconciliation.

[01:09:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Friends, we are debtors, and the great good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ paid a debt that we could not pay to redeem us, to set us free from slavery, to get us and keep us in the family, to reset us, and that is available regularly, constantly to us, eternally to us.
[01:09:39] And he's come and told us, he's the Jubilee, he lets us be part of it.
[01:09:45] And there will be cost.
[01:09:46] There will be cost to forgiveness.
[01:09:47] There will be cost to serving.
[01:09:48] There will be cost to loving.
[01:09:50] We know that.
[01:09:52] He's given us the privilege of having His joy.
[01:09:56] His great joy is getting His people.
[01:09:58] Our great joy is serving our great Savior and loving as well.
[01:10:03] As you enjoy this Christmas season, as you enjoy your life beyond this Christmas, let's look at the real Jesus.
[01:10:09] God bless you.

[01:10:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Lord, bring me to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever.