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Jesus our Jubilee
by mark baker This time of year as we celebrate the Christmas season, and the birth of our Savior, we mustn't loose sight of the reason for His coming. He came to restore mankind to the Father. He came to destroy the works of the devil. He came to give life, and give it more abundantly. He came to give us eternal life. He came to forgive us our debts. 1Jn:3:8, Jn:10:10. With this in mind lets look at what Jesus said about Himself, as He read from the Prophet Isaiah. Luke 4:16: "So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.'' Rom:10:17: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Jesus was sent to preach deliverance and recovery, this is the method God uses to produce faith in the hearts of people. We also know that without faith it is impossible to please God. We have to hear the Word of God in order to believe. We also have to act on what we believe in order to receive the blessing. Blessings from God are always a result of obedience to His Word. The acceptable year of the Lord that Jesus was talking about was called the year of Jubilee, which took place every 50 years. The Hebrews were well acquainted with Jubilee, unlike many Christians today who are unfamiliar with this. They under stood the significance of it. The 25th chapter of Leviticus describes what Jubilee means. People were not allowed to plant on the year of Jubilee, God would give an increase from the year before enough to sustain them for 3 years, also lands and property were to be restored. Restitution was made to all of the children of Israel. If any had been put into servitude or slavery because of debts, they were to be released, and their debts wiped out, and they would be set free to go back to their families. In vs. 55 God made the statement that the children of Israel are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. Jesus said in the gospel of Luke, " And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'' (Luke 4:21) Jesus was saying, Jubilee is no longer a year in time it is a person, and, I am He. The poor don't have to be poor, the blind don't have to be blind, this reality should be deeply burned into the conscious of every believer, we have been redeemed, Jesus purchased our redemption, we have to acknowledge that redemption, and act on it as if God's Word is true, because it most certainly is. Jesus was anointed to do these things, he spoke the Word, the anointing was on the Word, He proclaimed the Word and the anointing was on the Word, Jesus proclaimed that Jubilee was fulfilled today. Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. ''Jesus said the scripture was fulfilled , we have his Word to act on, The year of jubilee has been proclaimed. We are no longer beggars, we are redeemed children of God, lets start acting like it. His anointing will be there to carry out what the Word of God says. The Word of God tells us that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, The power for deliverance from every situation of life in which we might find our self. 2 Peter 1:4: "by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." This is good news, these are real promises, based on God's Word, we can be partakers of these promises because we are Abraham's seed. Galatians 3:29: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal.3:16: " Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds,'' as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed,'' who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect." These promises were not done away with Christ, they were fulfilled in Christ. This day is this promise fulfilled in your ears. The Year of Jubilee is here! Acts 10:34-38: "Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. "But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. "The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ He is Lord of all ."that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Every where Jesus went, He went about doing good and healing all who were sick and oppressed. Through death, Jesus destroyed the work of the enemy. 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Romans 4:13: "For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." James 1:22: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Romans 6:4: "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Philippians 2:13: "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Colossians 1:12: "giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." God's Word tells us we have been qualified to be partakers of His inheritance, we should all be thankful for this most precious gift. If you have not received eternal life, it's time to become a partaker, after all it has been freely given. If you want to know for sure that you are a child of God then pray this prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (Jn.6:37), So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it. You said in your Word, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Ro. 10:13). I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now, You also said, "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Ro.10:9,10). I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, " with the heart man believeth unto righteousness" and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21), And I am saved! Thank You, Lord! I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God! Glory to God!!!! I was raised Catholic, and was born again at the age of 17. I received God's call into ministry at the age of 19 and began to prepare for ministry. I graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center in 1979. The Lord has called me to teach. My desire is to help all that are seeking the truth to come into a deeper understanding of what God has done for us through Christ Jesus. Olive Branch Ministries is an outgrowth of that desire. Please feel free to visit us for more free studies and resources to help you on your journey. Mark Baker http://www.olivebranchministries.us Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |