Words from the Lord: This is your time to be set free!

Words from the Lord: 

"My people are entering a time of setting free. Be set free from your bodily infirmities! Be set free from your bondage, trap and slavery! Be set free from the rat-race that you're not supposed to be in! Be set free from all those striving and struggling! Be set free from the harm and abuse that has been inflicted upon you! This is the time I am setting you free! Free to be who I have meant for you to be!" 

This is your time to be set free! Whatever your 'slavery' may be, you are declared free! For some, it may be your struggles with bodily infirmities. For some, it may be a certain 'rat-race' that you are not supposed to be part of. For some others, it may be a certain striving and struggling in life. Yet for others, it may be a certain shame, trauma, or nightmare of the past. It may be during your childhood years. It may be during your adolescent years. It may be during your young adult years. It may be in a certain organization. It may be a certain bad experience with certain people in your life. Whatever it may be, I have a good news for you. This is your time to be set free! 

So, in the name of Jesus, let us proclaim liberty! Let us proclaim that we are being set free! Let us proclaim even a year of the favor of the Lord is upon us! 

Let's look at the definition of 'slavery' now. What is 'slavery'? It can be defined as 'a condition in which a person is being 'owned' or abused by another person or by a certain system (particularly a man-made system), and that person is being deprived of the life usually held by a free person'. 

What are the areas in your life that you know you should be set free? Now, different people different. But whatever your 'slavery' may be, the good news today is the Lord is setting you free! 

Let me explain further regarding freedom and liberty according to the Scripture. This brings us to the word 'Jubilee' as found in the Scripture. 

What is 'Jubilee' according to the Scripture? It came every fiftieth year. It was a year of release from debts. It was a year of release from slavery. It was a year of rest and returning to families and loved ones. And it was a year to prepare to look forward with a clean slate. In short, it was a year to rest from all those labor, and at the same time, to prepare to embrace a new season. And this is exactly what the Lord is saying to you right now. He wants you to be set free from those past, and to learn to embrace what is ahead of you. Indeed, greater things are ahead of you, and good days are coming ahead of you. Amen! 

Let's go all the way to Leviticus 25:1-4. 'While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord said to him, "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you have entered the land I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath rest before the Lord every seventh year. For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord's Sabbath...' 

By the way, the word 'Sabbath' simply means 'rest', i.e. 'to rest in the presence and provision of the Lord'. Just as in creation, God created the whole earth and all things that are in it in six days, and on the seventh day, He rested. Now, He has set for us a beautiful cycle and a beautiful example of 'six days you work, one day you rest'. And here in the context of Moses' days those days, 'six years you work, one year you rest'. 

Let's continue with Leviticus 25:8-11. 'In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram's horn loud and long throughout the land. Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a Jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. This fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you...' 

You may want to read the whole of Leviticus chapter 25 to have further understanding of Jubilee. But today, I want to point you to Jubilee in relation to what Jesus has done for you on the cross and who Jesus is. 

'Jubilee' is a 'foreshadow' of Jesus' death and resurrection. The word 'foreshadow' means 'something that prepares us for a certain future event'. In this case, Jubilee was actually a 'foreshadow' of Jesus' finished work on the cross to set us free! Through Jesus' death and resurrection, He has relieved us from all our spiritual slavery and spiritual debts; and therefore we are now set free! This is what 'Jubilee' is in relation to us as believers under the New Covenant. 

How does 'Jubilee' apply to us as modern-day Christians? First, you must know Jubilee is fulfilled through Jesus' finished work on the cross. Through what Jesus has done on the cross, you are now forgiven of your spiritual debts. Therefore, your relationship with God is now fully restored. That's what Jesus came for. He came to set you free from your sins. He came to restore your relationship with God the Father. And not just that. He came so that you can enter a time of rest in Him. Jesus is your rest. Jesus is your Sabbath. 

Luke 6:5 says, 'And Jesus added, "The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath."' Matthew 11:28 says, 'Then Jesus said, "Come to Me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."' These verses are proofs that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabbath. He is both the Lord of the Sabbath (as you can see in Luke 6:5), and He Himself is also your Sabbath rest (as you can see in Matthew 11:28). He says, "I will give you rest." 

So beloved of God, come to Him right now. Whatever weariness or heavy burden that you may have, or whatever yoke or bondage that you may have, let it go to the Lord. Let Jesus take over. Yes, even your shame, your trauma, your disappointment, or even those bad experiences that you've had in your past. Surrender all these to the Lord. The Lord loves you. The Lord is here to embrace you. The Lord is here to give you rest. Remember, He has promised you this rest. 

Let's continue with Hebrews 4:9-10. 'So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors...' 

'Labors' here is in the context of striving and struggling in life. Now, don't get the Scripture wrong here. There's nothing wrong with working hard. It is a good virtue. The Scripture is not saying that you are to live a lifestyle of laziness and just waiting for things to drop down from the sky. Instead, it means you can truly enter the rest that God has provided for you, and it means you can cease your striving and struggling. You are no longer slaves to work. You are no longer slaves to whatever people impose on you. You are no longer slaves to being abused by others. You are no longer slaves to sin. You rely on the supply of God. You rely on the grace of God. You rely on the ability that God puts in you. You are no longer in bondage of the systems of this world (i.e. the man-made systems of this world), but you are free to be who God has meant for you to be, and to do what God has meant for you to do. This rest from God is refreshing. It brings renewal. It is a breath of fresh air. You are restful, yet you are fruitful in the Lord. You are led by the Holy Spirit. You are guided by the Holy Spirit. You do not follow your own flesh. But you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. That's when you are restful, and yet you are fruitful as well. Hallelujah! 

You see, 'Jubilee' is a beautiful 'picture' of the New Testament theme of redemption and forgiveness. Jesus is your Redeemer, and this Redeemer came to set you free from being slaves and prisoners to whatever bondage that the world puts on you. Jesus has paid it all on the cross. He died on your behalf. And you are now set free and restored to this liberty that God has meant for you. You are set free from whatever that has entangled you. You are set free from whatever that has bound you. You are set free from whatever that has put you in a box! 

Let's go to Luke 4:14-19 now. 'Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit's power. Reports about Him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When He came to the village of Nazareth, His boyhood home, He went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come."' 

Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy written in the book of Isaiah. He is that Anointed One. He brings His kingdom on earth. He brings the Good News on earth. He set the captives free. He healed the sick. He healed those who have infirmities. He came to set free those who are oppressed. And not just that. He came to bring the favor of the Lord upon you. That's what the Scripture says here! 

Watch now what Luke 4:20-21 say. 'He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at Him intently. Then He began to speak to them. "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day!"' 

Beloved of God, this verse holds true even right now in your life today. The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day in your life! Believe and receive it, in the name of Jesus! Jesus has fulfilled all! Jesus has set you free! You are now free to embrace the new season ahead of you. This is the time for you to proclaim your liberty! This is the time for you to walk in what God has meant for you to be, and do what God has meant for you to do, going forward. Hallelujah!

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When you are at rest...

Leviticus 23:24 (NKJV): "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.'"

This day is also called the Head of the Year, or Rosh Hashanah, i.e. the Jewish New Year. Notice the Jewish New Year begins in the seventh month (Tishrei), and very interestingly, Leviticus 23:24 says it begins with a sabbath-rest! The word 'sabbath' in Hebrew here actually means 'rest, stillness, quietness, or to desist from exertion'. I like the words 'to desist from exertion' here. Let me explain further.

As a believer in the New Covenant, know that Jesus is the Lord of Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). In Him, you find sabbath (rest, stillness, and quietness for your soul). Notice just before Matthew 12 about Jesus being the Lord of Sabbath, in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Your year begins with a sabbath-rest! I used to wonder why is it so, and 1 Chronicles 22:7-10 came into picture: And David said to Solomon: "My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God, but the word of the Lord came to me saying, You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father..." By the way, 'Solomon' in Hebrew comes from the word 'Shalom', meaning 'peace'.

Let me reiterate this: Your year begins with a sabbath-rest! And so it is with a new season (or project) you are walking into! In other words, begin your new season (or project) with the revelation of sabbath-rest! 

You see, only a man of rest can build God's things! When one is striving, restless, or in strife (i.e. not at rest), one cannot make 'pinpoint' or accurate decisions, hence building God's things, or walking in the fullness of God's destiny for him/her. That's why the psalmist wrote, "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) And when one is at rest (i.e. 'to desist from exertion', which speaks of 'to stop trying hard with one's own strength and self-effort'), God's divine wisdom and revelation also flows. What takes many days for somebody else to 'achieve' with his/her own self-effort or intelligence, with God, it may only take you one day!

In fact, studies have proven that one's inability to handle stress effectively raises his/her heart risk (i.e. the risk of heart attack or having heart-related problems). Also when one is striving and not at rest, his/her body's immune system lowers down, and therefore becomes easily susceptible to all kinds of illnesses!

That's why God wants us to start the year (or a project) with a restful heart. When you have a restful heart, you are in effect allowing God to take charge and take over. You also cast your care to Him, knowing that He cares for you, and will lead you on. Jesus would then become your wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30), instead of you relying solely on your own human wisdom. And when His divine wisdom flows, whatever He has called you to do will never be in vain! Psalm 127:1-2 confirms it: 'Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep'. 'To eat the bread of sorrows' here can mean 'to be anxious, restless, and worried about many things'.

So, people of God, begin to look to Jesus as you begin your year (or a project). When you learn to rest in Him, that's when He acts! He is your 'head start'! He is also your all-sufficient Lord and God. Rest in His wisdom and revelation for you (Ephesians 1:17). Rest also in His assurance that He is with you, and will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). In Him, you find every good thing flowing to you and through you. His work on the cross has already been completed and finished! (John 19:30) And He is now highly exalted above all else (Philippians 2:9), sitting together with the Heavenly Father. 'To sit' speaks of 'rest'. Today, He is also inviting you to sit together with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and reign with Him (Romans 5:17), as you walk into the fullness of God's destiny and calling for your life. Amen.