You would turn with me to the
Old Testament book of Leviticus, chapter 25. Leviticus, chapter 25. I've been
giving a great deal of thought lately to freedom. Freedom, that's
a wonderful thing, freedom. As Larry prayed, freedom to worship,
that's a wonderful thing. More than anything in this world,
I desire to have that true rest that's found only in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And the only way to have true
rest is to have freedom. Freedom from the power of sin. Freedom from the guilt of sin. And as long as a sinner is under
the power of sin, There can be no rest. As long as a sinner
feels the guilt of their sin, there can be no rest, none. The rest and freedom can only
be accomplished one way, and that's in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord himself said, come unto me, all you that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest, rest. What labor is
our Lord speaking of? What burdensome, what heavy load
is He referring to? Christ is speaking of those who
groan, being burdened with the guilt of sin upon their consciences,
pressed down with the yoke of the law, sinners who are laboring
in order to obtain peace of conscience and rest for their souls. Are you groaning for such freedom
and rest? Christ is saying, come to me,
lay down your burdens at my feet. Look and lay hold of me by faith. Trust in my work of righteousness
and my sacrifice for sin that can never be obtained by the
works of the law. Oh, if I can get a hold of that.
There's some freedom and there's some rest found there. He says,
I'll give you rest, spiritual rest, eternal rest, peace of
conscience, ease of mind, tranquility of soul. I'll give you freedom
through pardoning grace and free justification through my work
of righteousness. And only Christ can give this
peace, this eternal rest, and this everlasting freedom from
the burden and the bondage of sin and sin's wages, which is
death. And I tell you without reservation,
I want this freedom. I deserve this rest. There's
no rest apart from that freedom that God's people have in Christ,
their Sabbath of rest. Over 20 times in the scriptures,
the word Sabbath is used in conjunction with the word rest. For example,
Genesis chapter 2 verse 2 tells us, And on the seventh day God
ended His work which He had made, and He rested. Now we know that
God was not weary, the Creator feigneth not. But by having finished
His perfect work, He had no more to do, and He was satisfied with
what He had done. God rested. The Hebrew word rested
is Shabbat and it actually means to cease and to celebrate. God rested, He celebrated on
the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it He had
rested from, He had taken delight in all His work which He created
and made. And throughout the scriptures,
the Sabbath refers to rest. No work was to be done on the
Sabbath. And we live in a day of entitlement. Men and women alike think that
God owes them something. They think that they're entitled
to everything God has. But the only thing that anyone
is entitled to is that which they've earned. And all that
any of us have truly earned is the wages of sin, which is death,
Romans 6.23. Everything else that we have
is a gift of God. And if we don't see it as so,
I'm telling you, we'll live a most miserable life. What do we have
that we did not receive, Paul asked. And if we received it,
why do we glory as if we had not received it? It's God who
makes us to differ. And that is the beautiful picture
that we have here in Leviticus chapter 25. Let's look at it
together, beginning in verse one. And the Lord spake unto
Moses in Mount Sinai saying, speak unto the children of Israel
and say unto them, when you come into the land which I give you,
then shall the land keep. And if you have a marginal Bible,
you may notice that that word keep there actually means rest. He says, then shall the land,
the land shall keep or rest a Sabbath unto the Lord. Now this is speaking
of a rest from plowing and tilling. This was according to the will
of God. And it was for his honor and
for his glory showing that this is his land. He is the proprietor
and his land was only on loan to Israel as all things in this
life are on loan to us. You ever thought about that?
Teresa and I live in a house on Simmental Street in Madisonville. The deed is in our name. We pay
the taxes on that house. And we live there. But it's not
our house. It's the Lord's house. And it's
only on loan to us. And one day when we die, someone
else is going to live in that house. When our children were
born, they were just on loan to us. I see that now more clearly
than ever. God gave them to our care. We
looked after them the best we could, but they belong to Him.
They always belong to Him. They still belong to Him. Whether
they trust in Him or not, they are still His. He does as He
wills with them. They're grown now, no longer
under our care, but they still belong to God. and God will do
with them whatsoever He pleases. Everything we have belongs to
the Lord and is under His control. How do I know that? From God's
word. It says, the earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell
therein. It all belongs to Him, every
bit of it. Now look at verse three. Six
years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune
thy vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof. But in the seventh
year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for
the Lord. for the Lord, and thou shalt
neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard. And that which
groweth on its own accord of thy harvest, thou shalt not reap,
neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, for it is
a year of rest unto the land. And the Sabbath of the land shall
be meat for you, food for you. For thee, and for thy servant,
and for thy maid, and for thy hard servant, and for thy stranger
that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for thy beasts
that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat,
shall be food. Now here we have a seven-year
Sabbath. For six years they would work
the land, and in the seventh year Israel was not allowed to
plant, prune, or together. They were commanded, now listen,
they were commanded to trust and to rest in God to give them
the increase. It was a year of rest unto the
land. A celebration, a holiday so to
speak. And it was meat, it was food
for God's people. God took care of them and all
that they had. And the land was meat, food for
them. And they were commanded to rest. God commanded them to
rest. God's people are still commanded
to rest. To rest in Christ our Sabbath. God's people were commanded to
rest on the seventh day of the week. And God's people were commanded
to rest in the seventh year, which was a Sabbath for the Lord
when they should neither plant or sow. But then there was another
Sabbath, the Sabbath of all Sabbaths, the Sabbath of Jubilee. And that's
what we see next. Look at verse eight. And the
Lord said, and thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto
thee, seven times seven years, and the space of the seven sabbaths
of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou
cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound. On the tenth day of
the seventh month, in the day of atonement, shall you make
the trumpet sound throughout all the land. Now here we have
a Sabbath. As I said, the Sabbath of all
Sabbaths. The Sabbath of Jubilee that occurred
every 50 years. And the sound of the trumpet
in that 50th year was called the Trumpet of Jubilee. And in
verse 9, God says, in the day of atonement, which was on the
10th day of the 7th month, God said, you shall make the trumpet
sound throughout the land. Verse 10, and you shall hallow
or revere or show reverence in the 50th year and proclaim liberty,
freedom throughout all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you. and you shall return every man
unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his
family." Now, our Lord says after seven times, seven years, that's
49 years, going through all these other types of Sabbaths for the
people of God, the one thing that is true of every Sabbath
that is here mentioned, shall be that there shall be no work
be done. No planting, no plowing, no pruning,
no nothing. And this is a picture of Christ
our Sabbath. Now whatever this Jubilee is,
it first rests on the accomplishments of the Day of Atonement, which
spiritually speaks of the accomplishments of Christ's death on Calvary's
cross. And we've discussed this before,
the word atonement here is though a wonderful word. It's an Old
Testament word and it's only used once in the New Testament
in Romans and it's used then as a whole different meaning.
The word atonement means a covering. You know, the sin of God's people
has not been covered. It's been put away. Big difference. Big difference in being covered
and being put away. We have not been atoned for,
friends. We've been propitiated. Christ's
work and obedience has appeased God for us. God is satisfied. Isn't that wonderful? Our sins
are gone. They've been put away forever. Something that is covered, simply
covered, can be uncovered. But that which is put away forever
is forever put away. The sins of God's people are
gone and gone forever. Oh, I wish we could get a hold
of that. You know why we have such a problem with it is because
our sin is ever before us. We live with ourselves. We know
our thoughts. We know our thoughts. We know
our own heart, not like God does, but we do know and we think,
how could I even say that I have no sin? It doesn't even sound
right, does it? But in the Lord Jesus Christ,
your sin has been put away. It's gone. They're gone forever. You know, if our robe of righteousness
just hangs, simply hangs on us to only cover our sins, we're
still in trouble. If we're not made in every way
clean before God, then we're not clean on any level. But when
Christ was made sin for his people, he took their sin and he put
it away as far as the east is from the west. Now have you ever
thought about that? Do you know that that's an infinite
distance? It doesn't mean as far as the
east is from the west on earth. Now you can go east on earth
and wind up going west again as you follow the circular motion
of the globe. You can go west and wind up going
east again. See what I'm saying? That's not
what the Lord's talking about here. The sin of God's elect
is put away as far as the east is from the west in space, in
the vast universe. It's an infinite distance that
cannot be measured. East goes on infinitely as far
as the heavens go, and west goes on infinitely, and the two shall
never meet. That's how far God has put our
sins away from us. God made us the very righteousness
of God in Christ. How perfect do you have to be? You've got to be as perfect as
God is. That can only be accomplished
one way, and that's God giving us His very righteousness. Christ was made to be sin for
us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Did you hear that? Christ has given you God's righteousness. Christ is our robe. He's our
covering of righteousness. And when God now sees and looks
at us, He sees His beloved Son. Such is our union, our oneness
within. Now, back to our text. After the 49th year, on the day
of atonement, after the high priest had made the atonement
for the sins of the people, the 50th year, a ram's horn was blown. Boy, I'm telling you, that was
a sweet, sweet sound to those who had lost everything and were
bankrupt. For according to verse 10, every
man was returned the possession that he had lost. This trumpet
was not a trumpet as we know it. It was not a trumpet with
the vowels that played multiple notes. It was a ram's horn that
produced only one note. one loud note. Matter of fact, the Hebrew word
for jubilee actually means a loud sound, a blast of the horn. And when it was blown, it indicated
that atonement had been made. And what a beautiful sound that
was to those that needed to have their sin covered. That one note
blast of the horn represents and pictures the one note of
the gospel. It pictures our salvation in
the Lord Jesus Christ as He hung on Calvary's cross and He cried,
the scripture says, with a loud voice, it is finished. And Christ's shout of it is finished
was the shout of jubilee. According to Numbers 23, the
shout of the king was heard in the putting away of his people's
sin. Listen, God's law was honored. Boy, that'll mean something to
you if you try to keep it yourself and you see that you can't. God's
justice has been satisfied. Oh, that'll mean something to
you when you see that you can't satisfy it. The year of Jubilee
was something special. It only came once every 50 years.
And those who were poor and bankrupt, they waited with anticipation
for that year. This was what the Sabbath pitches. God says, you rest and I'll take
care of you. In redemption, there's no work
for us to do. The work's finished. Redemption
is accomplished. All we have to do is rest. Rest. Rest in Christ. And the
year of Jubilee so fully represents the redemptive work that Christ
has done for His people. I can assure you of this. Those
who were bond slaves. Those who had lost all they had. Those who had to leave their
family and move in with those whom they served. They waited
with great anticipation for the sound of that trumpet. That one
note. Just as God's people today wait
with great anticipation to hear that one-note sound of the Gospel. And it is that, isn't it? It's
a one-note Gospel. Christ and Him crucified. Paul
said, I've determined not to know anything among you. I just
want to hear one note. Christ, Christ, Christ and Him
crucified. Christ in Him crucified declares
that the issue of sin has been forever settled. Christ, our
High Priest, has offered for us that which God accepted and
God is satisfied. Can you hear the ram's horn?
I'm attempting to blow it loud and clear. Do you have an interest
in hearing it? Has God enabled you to hear the
blowing of the Trump of Jubilee? Let me tell you something that
I've learned. God's people love the gospel. They love it. Oh, there was a time when I didn't
love it, but I love the gospel. I love to hear it preached. I
love to study the scriptures. I love to see where Christ died,
the just for the unjust, because I'm that unjust one. I can't
fathom being without the Gospel, without hearing it. Without hearing
the sound of that Gospel note blown again and again and again. And I'll tell you something else.
The true servants of Christ are afraid to preach anything other
than the Gospel. Paul didn't say, woe unto me
if I preach not. That's not what he said. He said,
woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel. Now listen to me, if
we don't get to Christ, if you are without Christ, if you don't
get to Christ, you're gonna perish in your sin. The gospel tells
us how to get to him. No, the gospel tells us how he
gets to us. It would be better, more correctly
said. Preaching the gospel is a repetitive sounding of just
one note. One note on the ram's horn. And
that note is the great transaction of reconciliation to God that
it's finished. The work is done. And as a sinner,
ruined, undone, I never grow tired of hearing that one note.
You know, I love music, I do. I could sit and listen to Shelly
and Miss Harmon play all day long. The chromatic scale, it
has 12 notes and they can be played in many combinations to
make chords and melodies of so many variations. It's hard to
believe that all the music that we have and all the music that's
ever been composed, there's only 12 notes. But it's the combination
of them and the melody, just beautiful. I just love it. But if every song only had one
note, why, it wouldn't be appealing to us at all, would it? But the
gospel is sweet music of another kind. Its one note makes the
most beautiful melody of all. Christ has died in your place
and put away your sin forever. That's the note. Ring it again. Blow that ram's horn one more
time. Sound that note again. Tell me that story one more time.
It's the only thing and the last thing that a believer wants to
hear. And that's what all God's people want. While they're here,
they want to hear that ram's horn blown again and again and
again until the Lord takes them home. Many of you heard Brother
Paul Mahan say the last time that he was here that Brother
Henry and his white doors, now in their 90s, tell him that the
best message they ever heard is the last message that they
hear him preach. Every time he finishes preaching they say,
that's the best message I ever heard. You know what? The last
gospel message we hear is the best message. Until we hear another
one. Is there any message better than
thy sins are forgiven thee? Is there any message better than
that? Is there any better news than that? Oh, if you care about
your sin and you're standing before God, that'll be the best
news you ever heard. Nothing else matters in this
world. Have you ever heard such good news? Your sins are forgiven. They're put away. And when the
trumpet of Jubilee was blown, it meant more than just the fact
that atonement had been accomplished. Why, it was a declaration of
absolute liberty. That gets to the freedom that
I was talking about in the beginning. The sound of the trumpet of Jubilee
brought freedom. Freedom. Again, verse 10, and
you shall howl the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout
all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee
unto you. And you shall return every man
unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his
family. Oh, these were glad tidings of
good things. To who, you might ask? To the
poor and needy. Those who had sold or mortgaged
all their possessions to another. He now was returned all that
had belonged to Him. Every man was returned to his
family. One who had sold himself, as I said a minute ago, as a
servant, a bond slave, lived with the family he served. But
now, the sound of that trumpet, you know what that means? He's
going home. He's going home to be with his own family. Can you
imagine? 49 years. 49 years. Jubilee was a wonderful thing.
And it's still a wonderful thing to sinners today. We are in great
debt and we can't get out. We're bankrupt. We got nothing
to pay. We owe more than we can ever
begin to repay. And we, like the poor bankrupt
sinners in the year of Jubilee, we wait to hear that glorious
sound of the trumpet. And it means something. Oh, it
means something. You know why? When they hear
that trumpet blow, it tells them that they're no longer in debt.
That's what I'm telling you. You're no longer in debt. You're
free and you can rest. Their debt was fully paid. Who
paid that great debt? God did. The banknote owed to
God's law says, pain and fool, and it's written with the blood
of Christ. The law of God can extract no
payment. The law of God's been honored
and fulfilled. The holy justice of God can demand
no satisfaction. You know why? Christ has met
and satisfied the justice of God. Their fall into poverty
had put them so far in debt that they could never get out. And
don't you know that some had their ears cupped, waiting to
hear the sound of that trumpet. You better believe they did.
Was that it? No, you'll know it when you hear
it. I thought that was it. They listened. 49 years of waiting to hear that
one note sound of jubilee. When they heard it immediately,
the chains and the fetters of indebted servitude fell off. Those fetters like the scales
on Paul's eyes fell off when he heard the gospel. You know
what? That's my story. I was a slave
to sin. I was a slave to Satan and self. I wasn't able to free myself.
Oh, I tried. I tried for a long time to no
avail. My will? Oh, I thought I had
a will. I thought I had a free will. But my will was in bondage
to my nature. I could not come. I didn't have
the ability. I would not come to Christ. I
didn't have the will. Oh, my will was in bondage to
my nature. I could not and would not come.
And then one day the trumpet blew. And I heard it. I heard it. And it told me that
I was free. And it commanded me to rest.
No work is needed or allowed. Look at verse 11. I'll wrap this
up. And Jubilee shall that fiftieth
year be unto you. Ye shall not sow, neither reap
that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes
in it of thy vine undressed, for it is the Jubilee. It shall
be holy unto you. You shall eat the increase thereof
out of the field. In the year of Jubilee you shall
return to every man unto his possession. Do you see what this
picture is in Tipiphi? Freedom! Rest! There's no work
for you to do. Stop working! No work to be done. Simply eat of the increase that
God has provided. Partake of Christ, the bread
and the water of life. No need to work. No need to buy
or pay back in order to redeem that which we've lost. In the
year of Jubilee, God freely returns all that we lost in Adam, and
even more. Even more. No longer a debtor. No longer a bond-slayer. Did
you know that after the year of Jubilee, a man through bad
investments or poor planning could lose it all and fall right
back into servitude and spend another 49 years in poverty? The Old Testament Jubilee was
not a permanent thing. It was just a shadow. But it
was a shadow of good things to come. And on the day of redemption,
the Lord Jesus Christ having finished the work of salvation,
the eternal jubilee began. And God says, their sins and
their iniquities I will remember no more. No more. Forever. It's accomplished. You're
free. You see, beloved, Christ is our
Sabbath of Jubilee. The Sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is
Lord also of the Sabbath. Christ is the true Sabbath. Christ is our true rest. How
did he teach us to pray? In the language of Jubilee. Forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors. What did He promise
the poor who were weary and heavy laden? He said, come unto Me
and I'll give you jubilee. I'll give you rest. The very
language of redemption is the language of jubilee. Redemption
is being bought and brought out of bondage and slavery. That's
exactly what Christ has done for us. Restoration is gospel
language. Everything we lost in Adam was
restored to us by the last Adam. And much, much more. Dear sinner,
hear me on this. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. So, do you hear the horn? Do you hear the ram's horn? Yet
there's still one restriction that applies to the Sabbath.
No work is to be done. No work is to be done. You didn't
do anything to relieve yourself of your debt. You didn't do anything
to break yourself out of slavery. God did it all. And now all you
do is rest. God will supply your every need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. And our Lord
said, He stood in His hometown synagogue one day and He said,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed
Me to preach the gospel to who? The poor! And He has sent Me
to heal who? The broken hearted. To preach
deliverance to who? The captives. And recovering
of sight to who? The blind. To set at liberty
who? They that are bruised. to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. That acceptable year of the Lord
is the eternal Sabbath rest of Jubilee. Christ is our Sabbath. He's our rest. May God enable
you to rest in Him. May God enable me to rest in
Him.