Now we're going to turn to God's Word. We're going to turn to a book that we don't often read from, the book of Leviticus.
The words will come up on the screen if you've got a Bible you might like to turn to us. Leviticus chapter 25.
Now Leviticus is in many ways quite a scary book for lots of people.
It is where God gives the detailed regulations about sacrifice and about how the people should live before him.
But I thought chapter 25 is particularly appropriate to think about today because it is about the year of Jubilee.
The idea of Jubilee, as so many other things, is something that comes from the Bible.
And the year of Jubilee was every 50th year that the people particularly celebrated and remembered God's goodness to them.
So we're going to spend a little while this morning thinking about the year of Jubilee
and thinking about some of the lessons perhaps we can learn as a church as we go into our Jubilee year this year.
So we're going to read not the whole chapter, we're going to read a few verses from Leviticus 25
and then see what God has to say to us.
So start at verse 8, Leviticus 25 and verse 8.
And God says,
In this year of Jubilee, everyone is to return to his own property.
If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him, do not take advantage of each other.
You are to buy from your countrymen on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee.
And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops.
When the years are many, you are to increase the price.
And when the years are few, you are to decrease the price.
Because what he is really selling you is the number of crops.
Do not take advantage of each other.
But fear your God.
I am the Lord your God.
And then we're moving down a bit in the chapter to verse 35.
Verse 35.
And God again says,
If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you,
help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you.
Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countrymen may continue to live among you.
You must not lend him money at interest or selling food at a profit.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
And God, I'm sure, will bless his word as we consider it together.
If you move back 50 years from 2017, it's not very difficult to work out you get back to 1967.
I can only remember clearly two things that happened in 1967.
And one of them was that it was probably the best year ever for Scottish football.
In May, we went down to Wembley, and the Wembley Wizards hammered the world champions English.
Say they hammered, we won 3-2, but it felt like we hammered them.
And we then obviously became world champions because we beat the previous champions.
So great, great for Scottish Scotland.
And then the event I really remember well from the football is the following month, the month of June, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup.
They went out to Lisbon, the Lisbon Lions, and they won the European Cup.
I have quite a strong memory of that.
As a result of that, I had my first sporting hero, who was this guy here, who was called Bobby Lennox.
A kind of speedy winger for Celtic.
I'm not sure why I chose him, but he quickly became my sporting hero in 1967.
So that's the first memory, nothing to do with church.
Second memory very much is to do with church.
It is of moving up into this church here.
Up until 1967, the church, the people of the church, we worshipped down in a hall in Lauriston Place.
And you can maybe just make out, we're looking towards to across here,
and our hall is where the flats were on the far right of that picture.
We were up a stairs, it wasn't a ground floor, but it was a stancho hall that we used to meet in there.
But very much a hall rather than a church.
And I can remember some of the excitement, certainly among us youngsters,
at the thought of coming to a real church.
And a real church building, and quite grand it was too.
These are the decorative pipe organs.
They're actually still there.
If you can go up above that screen there, if you can see through,
these pipes are still there.
There's no organ, obviously, now attached to them.
You can see if you go up in one of the storage areas up in the gallery today.
Very good if you're getting a bit bored at one of the services.
You could try and count the number of pipes that were in the organ.
But it was an exciting time for the church.
It was a real step of faith for those who were in leadership at the time
to move from a relatively small hall upstairs into this big church
and to think that we could use it and that we could continue to worship God here.
And we've been here now for just about 50 years.
The anniversary is actually in July.
And they've been good years on the whole.
There have been difficult times.
We've gone through times when the church has struggled in many different ways.
But as I said at the start, God has been faithful to us.
And as we look back, we do so with thanksgiving.
I'm sure a lot of us who have been here for a long time
will get a bit nostalgic over the course of the year.
Please forgive us for that.
And we will also be trying to look forward
and to look at what God is continuing to do among us.
There's also, of course, as church members will know,
a year of a new start for the church.
John Gemmo, our pastor, for the last seven and a bit years,
has now moved on to further Christian service.
And certainly for the first half of the year,
we won't have a pastor leading us,
but we will have Graham Shanks, our assistant pastor,
and Peter and the interns who will be still very active.
But we're very much depending on God
and looking forward to what God has to do for us over the year.
But I thought it would be good this morning
to look at this year of jubilee
that the Israelites were instructed by God to celebrate
and to think, what does it say to us
as we enter our 50th year?
What lessons can we learn from God's instruction to Israel
that will be of help to us as we look back
and as we look forward this year?
Year of Jubilee, the name probably came from the trumpet
that was sounded at the beginning.
The Jubal was the name of the trumpet.
It was probably the year of the trumpet.
And of course, over time,
jubilee has become something particularly associated with marriage,
but also with other things as well.
It's not entirely clear how often the year of jubilee
actually was celebrated by the Israelites.
You don't read about it a lot in the Bible.
So whether they actually did as God had instructed them
over the years, we're not sure.
But what God gave them was something which was very important.
For most people, once in their lifetime,
they had this special year.
Once in their lifetime,
they had this year which was set apart for God
and was to be holy before him.
And it was a time when they were supposed to recognise
the goodness of God to them,
recognise their dependence on God,
and also to recognise that they were the people of God.
That they weren't just like any other nation round about
and that they would have a real care
and a real concern for each other
and particularly for those who were disadvantaged.
We'll think about some of these things
as we go along this morning.
But it was a special year.
Three points, three very simple points.
They all begin with F,
so hopefully relatively straightforward to remember.
The first thing was,
it was a year of faith.
We read about that at the beginning of our reading.
This was to be a year
when the people depended on God
to provide for them.
Now the Jubilee year wasn't unique in that sense.
Because God had said that every seventh year
was to be special
in that they depended on God.
As every week had a Sabbath day,
a day of rest,
so every seventh year
was to be a Sabbath year,
a year of rest.
A year of rest particularly for the land,
that the land could renew itself
and be able to produce a bigger crop
in subsequent years.
And a year of rest in that sense
for the people too,
they wouldn't be sowing the crop
and so on.
It was a year of rest
every seventh year,
but every 50th year
you had an even more special year of rest.
And the seventh year
and the 50th years
were years of faith.
You can imagine the people
getting to the end of the sixth year
in the seven-year cycle
and saying we've had a good crop this year
just as God promised we would,
but is it really going to be enough
to see us through the next two years
until we have our next harvest?
Is there enough in our barns
to see us through?
And they then had to trust God
and say,
yes, we believe in God.
We know that God is faithful.
We're not going to plant our crops next year.
We don't need to
because God has promised
we'll have the Sabbath year
and God will provide.
The 50th year
might have been doubly so.
Now it's not entirely clear,
at least to me,
exactly how the 50th year works.
So it might have been
you had the 49 years
and then you had the 50th year.
So in fact,
we had two years
when there was no planting.
Some people think
the 50th year,
the Jubilee year of each cycle
was actually treated
as the first year
of the next cycle.
So it was a Sabbath year,
also a Jubilee year.
It was year one
and then year 50
would also fall
on a Sabbath year.
Don't know the answer to that,
but quite possible
that the people of Israel
were being asked
to trust God
for two years
in this case.
One year for the normal
Sabbath year
and another year
for their Jubilee year.
And what a temptation
there may have been
to say,
let's just hedge our bets a bit.
Let's just plant a bit of crop.
Let's just make sure
for ourselves
that we'll be okay.
And God says,
no,
this is a year
when you have to depend
on me.
You have to have faith.
I will provide.
I will give you
what you need.
And I'm sure God,
if the people did indeed
celebrate the Jubilee year,
God certainly would have been
faithful to his promises.
And for us too,
we're entering a year
where we need to have faith.
We need to depend on God.
As I said,
we enter it without a pastor.
We have six months at least
and possibly longer
when it's going to be
all hands on deck
and we're going to have to cover
for the enormous amount
that John has done
over recent years.
But we can't go into it
thinking we will need
to make all these plans
and we will do it.
We need to go in saying
we are dependent
entirely on God
and he is the one
who will see us
through this Jubilee year.
He is the one
who will be with us
and will help us
and will guide us
and will ensure
that the church continues
to enjoy growth
and spiritual blessing
over the coming months.
I put in a picture
for this point
the words Jehovah Jireh
God provides.
Many of you will know
that recognize
that these words
are associated with
Abraham from the Old Testament.
Abraham who had
one son Isaac
in his very, very old age
and God asked him
to go and to take Isaac
and to offer him
as a sacrifice to God.
And as Abraham is going
out the mountain
with Isaac
and Isaac said
well, father there is no ram
how are we going
to make the sacrifice?
Abraham just says to him
the Lord will provide.
And of course
at the end of the day
the Lord does provide the ram
Isaac is spared
and Abraham names that place
Jehovah Jireh
God provides.
Let's go into this year
of Jubilee
and see it as being a year
when our faith in God
can be strong
when we can really depend
on him
and know that
whatever lies before us
whatever may face us
in the year ahead
if we have our trust in God
our confidence in him
rather than in ourselves
then we can know
that he will provide.
It is to be for us
a year of faith.
Second thing I suggest
is it is a year of fellowship.
Let's look for a moment
at the picture on the right
the lower right
the reset button.
The year of Jubilee
was very much a year
when you pressed
the reset button
in Israel.
Now we didn't read
all the detail of it
we read a little bit
about how the land
was restored
to its original owner
and so on
but the way it worked
was on the 50th year
everything was restored
to what it should have been
in the beginning.
And so you had a situation
that would straightforward
when we read about
where you sell land to someone
you can't sell it forever
you're only selling
at least on a certain
number of harvests
and on the 50th year
you go back to the land
and you take possession of it.
Later in the chapter
God envisages the situation
which undoubtedly arose
where some of the people
of Israel got into
financial difficulties
where they were struggling
to make ends meet.
And in that circumstance
the first thing you might do
would be sell off your land
so you could get some money
from that and God says
yes you can do that
but if you do that
it's restored to its original owner
on the 50th year.
If someone got really
really desperate
then they might say
well I've not got anything
to give
I've got no possessions left
all I've got is myself.
And they might offer themselves
to whoever they owed money to
and said
I will work for you
to pay off my debt.
And again God said
yes you can do that
it's not like the slavery
that we were familiar to
within America
a couple hundred years ago
and so on
it's people voluntarily
offering to work for others
God said
yes you can do that
but on the 50th year
you're released from it.
The 50th year
is when everyone
goes back
to their people
and the reset button
is pressed.
If you own land
you get it back
if you've even given up
your liberty
you get that back
as well.
It's a time to press
the reset button.
And why was that?
Fundamentally
it was because
God was saying
to the people of Israel
everything you have
and everything you are
belongs to me.
It's not really yours.
I've provided it.
I've been there
to give it to you.
I've blessed you
with so many things
and I want it to be
a reminder
these things belong to me
and even if you
both have a bit of wealth
over the years
you bought land off people
you're not to just go ahead
and to keep that land
you need to give it back
you need to restore it
to its original owner
because the land
and the people
belong to me.
One of the effects of that
was that all the tribes of Israel
and all the clans
within the tribes
they would get their
ancestral land back
and they could resettle again
in the 50th year.
Now this wasn't
just letting people
off with their debts
for nothing.
This was God saying
there is an accountability
for what you do.
If through unwise decisions
or through things
that happen to you
you get into some kind
of financial difficulty
there are consequences
in that
but along with the accountability
comes grace
and you will be
you will suffer
your consequence
of what you've done
for a while
but then at the end
of the day
you will get back
what belongs
to you.
And for the people
of God
the reason why
I've called this
a year of fellowship
it was a reminder
of what they had
in common
through God.
That they were
the people of God
they were all
the people of God
who he'd called
to himself
and who were
accountable to him
and they were
to live together
in the land
and not one
become very wealthy
another become
very poor
they were to care
for each other
they were to
enjoy fellowship
and focus on
what they had
in common.
However this year
we will enjoy
really good fellowship.
We'll have people
coming back
probably particularly
the first weekend
in September
when we have
our big celebration
who were here
perhaps 50 years ago
or 20 years ago
or whatever
people who have
been in the church
in the past
and we'll be able
to share with them
something of what
God was doing
in their time here
something of what
God is doing now
among us
we will enjoy
fellowship together
and we will
recognise that
as those who know
and love the Lord
Jesus
we are the people
of God
and God is good
to us
and we really
care for each
other.
The year of
fellowship
and a year
too when we
should have
care for those
who aren't
as well off
as we may be.
Those who don't
enjoy all the
blessings
that we do.
It's very easy
for Christian
church
practically evangelical
churches
to lose sight
of the fact
that there is
so much poverty
and suffering
around us.
God wouldn't
let his people
in the Old Testament
do that.
So let's this year
have a concern
too for those
who have little
in our land
in our city.
We do it every week
through the basics
bank and other
opportunities
in the church
to work a very well
working among
those who are
in many ways
disadvantaged.
Opportunities to give
to those
overseas who are
suffering in
terrible ways.
Let's remember
that people of God
are one
in the Lord Jesus.
us.
We need to
have a real
care and
concern for
everyone.
Because ultimately
what we're about
as a church
is not glorifying
ourselves,
is not getting
rich ourselves
in any kind
of way.
What we're about
as a church
is bringing glory
to God
and we do that
as together
in fellowship.
We worship
him and we
serve him
and we think
the thoughts
of God
and we have
that concern
that God
has and the
Lord Jesus
had for those
who are in
difficult circumstances.
Let it be a year
of fellowship,
a year of
caring for us.
Finally,
the third F,
it's a year
of freedom.
That was right
at the beginning
of our reading
that God
talked about
to consecrate
the 50th year
and proclaim
liberty
throughout the
land
to all
its
inhabitants.
The year of
Jubilee as
such,
the word
isn't used
in the rest
of the Bible.
But there is
a fairly clear
reference to it
in the book
of Isaiah
in chapter 61
which was taken
up by the Lord
Jesus when he
preached in the
synagogue
at Capernaum.
They didn't
call it the
year of Jubilee,
they called it
the year
of the Lord's
favour.
Here are the words
that the Lord
Jesus quoted
in the synagogue.
The spirit
of the Lord
is on me
because he
has anointed
me to
proclaim good
news to the
poor.
He has sent
me to proclaim
freedom for
the prisoners
and recovery
of sight for
the blind
to set the
oppressed
free
to proclaim
the year
of the
Lord's
favour.
To proclaim
the year
of the
Lord's
favour
or the
year
of
Jubilee.
And the
Lord Jesus
saw in
his coming
to the
earth
the first
time
also in
his coming
when he
comes again
that he
was the
one who
truly brought
about the
year of
Jubilee
and who
brought
freedom
to those
who were
in
captivity
of
whatever
kind.
So the
Jubilee
while it
emphasises
that we
belong to
God
while it
emphasises
that we
are
accountable
to
God
and
that
we're
accountable
to
each
other
in
the
way
that
we
treat
one
another.
It
also
emphasises
that we
are of
real value
of real
worth
to God.
That is
what the
Lord is
bringing
out.
He talks
about those
who have
nothing,
those who
are poor,
those who
are prisoners,
those who
are blind,
and in
those days
to be
blind,
almost
inevitably
meant you
are a
beggar.
Those who
were in
many ways
the very
dregs or
considered
the very
dregs of
society.
And the
Lord Jesus
says,
these people
are important
to God.
These are
the people
who I've
come for
and to
whom I
proclaim
the year
of the
Lord's
favour,
the year
of
Jubilee.
The year
of Jubilee
is something
which gives
hope to
all of
us if
we are
going
through
difficult
times or
if we
feel we
are of
little
worth in
this
world.
It is
the year
when God
can say
to us,
you
really,
really
matter
to me.
I
sent my
son into
the world
to give
you freedom,
to give
you riches
more than
you could
ever imagine,
to set
you free
from the
oppression,
from the
bondage
that comes
from the
sin that
is in
this world.
The year
of Jubilee
is a
year of
hope.
It's a
year of
hope that
God will
truly bless
into the
future.
As I said,
it's a year
of hope,
particularly as
we look
forward to
the return
of the
Lord Jesus
to take
his people
to be
with him.
And why
do we
know that
there is
hope for
us?
We know
there is
hope because
God's
son came
and he
died on
a cross,
he took
the
punishment
that was
due to
us for
all the
wrong we've
done.
So that if
we trust
in him,
we can
have
forgiveness,
we can
be released
from the
debt,
not the
physical
debt that's
talked about
in the
year of
Jubilee in
the Old
Testament,
the spiritual
debt,
the fact that
we have
failed God
and that we
deserve to
face the
consequences
of that.
Our God
is a God
of grace
and a
God of
mercy and
he wants
us to
free us
from that
and to
give us
hope for
the future.
So if you
come to
2017 and
perhaps look
back on
2016,
it's been
difficult and
there have
been hard
times,
come with
hope and
come with
faith,
knowing that
there is
true freedom
in the
Lord Jesus
and true
forgiveness
and the
new start,
the reset
button if you
like,
the opportunity
as we
trust in
him to
move forward
with him
and to
have
confidence
in him
for the
future.
I'm sure
this will
be a
great year.
In many
ways I'm
quite excited
about the
year that
is to
come.
Let's
make it a
year where
we recognise
that God
is among
us,
that God
is holy,
that God
is awesome,
but also
that God
cares for
us and
that God
wants to
truly bless
us.
Let's
come in
faith,
not knowing
what the
future holds,
but knowing
the one who
holds the
future and
with our
trust fully
in him.
I pray for
all of us,
this may be a
year when we
grow closer
to the
Lord Jesus,
perhaps come
to know him
for the first
time or come
to know him
better,
and when we
are able to
go on with
confidence that
the Lord is
with us,
and as we
trust him,
he will
bless us.
Let's pray
together.
Father, we
thank you for
your word to
us this
morning.
We thank
you for
this year
of jubilee
that you
graciously
instituted
for your
people.
We thank
you it was
a year of
faith for
them,
a year of
fellowship as
they celebrate
what they
had in you,
and a year
of freedom
too, as
those who
were in
bondage,
in debt,
were fully
released.
Thank you for
our year of
jubilee.
We pray it
may be a
real year
of blessing,
that we
pray it
may be
a year of
faith,
when we
trust in
the Lord
Jesus,
and look
to him
for all
our help.
That it
may be a
year of
fellowship,
when we
have a
real concern
for each
other,
and we
can enjoy
together
what we
have in
the Lord
Jesus.
And it
may be a
year of
freedom,
when the
things that
perhaps burden
us and
threaten to
overpower us
at present,
that as we
trust them
to your
hands,
that we
may be able
to leave
them with
you and
enjoy the
freedom that
can only
come through
the Lord
Jesus.
We thank you
for our time
together,
we commit
ourselves to
you,
we pray for
your presence
with us for
the rest of
the day,
as we
continue to
celebrate the
new year,
and we give
you our
thanks in
Jesus' name.
Amen.