Heart of Jubilee: Release (North OC)

Daniel Sumoge: Good morning everyone.

It's great seeing you all again.

I feel like I was just up here a few minutes ago, but can we give it up

though real quick for the, the worship team and everyone who, uh, helps sets

up so we can worship God together?

Thank you.

So much to, to everyone.

I just wanna give a, a shout out to, to Mark Lee over here.

He is in the back.

He's a learning av, so he is gonna use his talents to serve God in that way.

So Mark, we're grateful for you for that.

So thank you for doing that.

And then, uh, as well as everyone else in the back with Stewart as well, and

Eric as well, thank you so much for, uh, getting your early so we can, uh, do this.

Uh, but with that being said, uh, once again, my name is Daniel Oggi, uh, and

I will be your substitute teacher or preacher I should say this morning.

Uh, but.

Amen.

It's all good.

I'm excited for this, actually.

Uh, we're continuing this church wide, uh, not church wide, but

we're continuing this, uh, sermon series called The Heart of Jubilee.

Uh, what, what's coming up in about 12 days, guys, do you

guys remember what's coming up?

It was on the announcement.

Jubilee, the La Jubilee, correct?

Yes.

And we're gonna be studying out the heart of Jubilee, and it's more

than just a sermon series, really.

Church.

I really believe that this is a season of preparation and a journey we're

taking together through reading, reflecting, and discussing as well.

And, and it's leading up all the way up to the La Jubilee.

So by the time we get there, they're gonna be preaching sermons on the Jubilee.

We're gonna know what they're talking about.

We're gonna be, ah, we heard that before guys.

Don't worry.

But it's still a great thing to learn.

You know, last week Marcel preached about, uh, the, the heart of Jubilee

when it comes to the idea of reset, how God gives us a fresh start.

Amen.

And today we're gonna continue that, but this time we're gonna

talk about how the heart of Jubilee, how God wants us to release.

All right?

And we're gonna talk about that this morning.

But before we get into the scriptures, let's go to God in prayer.

Father God, just thank you for bringing us here this morning.

As we open your word, God, we pray that you can open our hearts.

Help us hear your voice, God, not my voice.

Just use me as a vessel God.

But I pray we can hear yours.

God, I pray that you can minister to each and every one of us here this morning.

God.

Lord, we love you so much.

And it's your son's name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So as we're talking about the Jubilee, we have to understand this is a,

there's a bigger picture here to it, and here's a timeline of what's happened.

This takes us all the way back with Moses and when he was leading God's people.

Out of slavery and in, in Egypt and into the Promised Land.

You know, while they were on their journey, God was forming them as a nation.

He wasn't just giving them laws, he was giving them a culture and

a new identity for his people.

You know, part of part of this was something called the Holiness Code, and

that was fine through, uh, Leviticus Chapter 17 and through, uh, through 25.

Leviticus 17 · chapter mention

And right at the end of the section, that's when we're gonna learn about this

radical idea that we are studying out.

And that is the year of Jubilee.

You know, and with the Jubilee, what is the Jubilee?

You probably are wondering, well, here's a refresher.

Every 50 years God told his people to stop working the land to free

anyone who is in debt or bondage.

To return the land to their original families, and most

importantly, to trust God to provide.

And hopefully, as you see you, as we're gonna be studying this out

in Leviticus chapter 25, that's where we, we will be this morning.

Leviticus 25 · chapter mention

Hopefully you'll see all of these in hand in scripture.

So if you're with me, please turn to Leviticus Chapter 25.

Leviticus 25 · chapter mention

We're gonna see the heart of the jubilee, but more importantly, the heart of God.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, so in verse, we're gonna pick up in verse eight.

And I encourage you guys, as we read this, try not to get into the little details.

I know for me, when I was setting this out, I, I started losing like brain cells.

There were just too many numbers going on.

I'm not a math major, and I was just like, God, what are you saying?

So, try not to get caught up in those details as much, but really

try to get caught up in what God was really trying to say from the heart.

Amen.

So with that, in verse eight, we're gonna pick up in Leviticus

Leviticus 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25 verse eight.

It says, count off seven Sabbath years.

Seven times.

Seven years, so that the seven Sabbath years amount to a period of 49 years,

then have the trumpet sounded everywhere.

On the 10th day of the seventh month, on the day of the atonement, sound the

trumpet through your land, consecrate the 50th year, and proclaim liberty

through the land to all its inhabitants.

It shall be a jubilee for you.

Each of you is to return to your family, uh, to your family

property, and to your own clan.

Like I said here guys, there, there's a lot of numbers, so try

not to get caught up into it.

But really I want us to focus in on this word here and actually

this phrase, but really liberty.

This word, liberty.

I dunno about you guys, but for me it stood out to me because we just

celebrated 4th of July a few weeks ago.

Fireworks, barbecue.

And we're thinking about how when I, when I think of liberty, when it

comes to the 4th of July, I can think more in a political sense maybe.

Maybe it's not just about, you know, who was right, who was wrong, but here, what

liberty, what God was trying to say here.

What I think is, is this deep soul level of freedom that only he can offer.

And what I love about the scripture is proclaim liberty to all its inhabitants,

not to some of them, not to only those who, uh, are maybe in a certain class

of people for those who own land or just to the religious leaders or for

those who have their lives together.

No.

God said, proclaim it to all of its inhabitants.

That means the liberty and freedom is for everyone.

It's for the broken.

It's for the burdened, for those who are indebted, for those who are

enslaved, even for the person whose life had fallen apart and didn't see

a way out, that was for them as well.

You know what I love about the Jubilee is it was a fresh start.

Who here loves to have a fresh start?

Who here looks forward to the new year?

Yeah, all of us do.

And even back then, this is what it was like for them.

It was a brand new year for them, but this one was a year

where they got to fresh start.

You know, if you had lost everything and were working for someone else's land

just to survive, you got to go home.

If you were drowning in debt, you were set free.

Amen.

Right?

Think about that.

If you were tired to hustle.

And worn out with this endless strive of just, you know, working hard.

God said, rest, I give you amen, man, the Jubilee.

What I think about the, what's great about the Jubilee, it wasn't just great

in a legal system, but it was also great in a healing system as well.

It was a healing reset.

It was God stepping into the middle of the people's mess and saying,

enough, it's time for freedom.

It's time for restoration.

It's time to start again.

And for me, I don't know why as I was studying this out, it was no coincidence

that they made this announcement during the Day of Atonement, which is the

most sacred day in Israel's calendar.

You know, the Day of Atonement is where the nations placed their sins

symbolically on a goat, which where you get the term scapegoat and sent

away, and it reminds everyone that God forgives, that God restores and God free.

You know, that was their restart.

And that is our restart as well, but minus the scapegoat, obviously.

But the Jubilee wasn't just a calendar event, it was a spiritual declaration

that no matter how bad things had gotten, God is still the God of second chances.

God still brings people home and God still makes it right.

And that's why this word, liberty, it means so much because in God's

kingdom, no one is left out.

Freedom is for all.

Amen.

So after you know the God's commands liberty and he proclaimed throughout

the land for all its inhabitants, we see how this freedom and this liberty

gets to be played out in everyday life because it's easy to save freedom

for all, but we get to see how it looks like every day here in Israel.

Here we see in this year, Jubilee, everyone is to

return to their own property.

If you sell land to any of your own people or buy land from them, do

not take advantage of each other.

You are to buy your own people on the basis of the number of years

since the Jubilee, and they're to sell you to the basis of the number

of years left for harvesting crops.

When the years are many, you are to increase the price and when years are

few, you are to decrease the price.

'cause what is really being sold to you is the number of crops.

Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God.

I am your God.

You see, the year jubilee isn't just spiritual, it was also practical as well.

It touched everything from, from the economy, from real estate to

land and to even relationships.

You know, in the ancient world or even today, land is everything.

It wasn't just where you lived, it was how you survived Your land is where you

got your food, where you got your income, where you got your inheritance, and if

you lost your land, then essentially.

It was like you lost your future in it.

But here's the key is that in God's system, land wasn't sold permanently.

Why?

Because ultimately, it didn't belong to the people.

The land belonged to him.

It belonged to God.

And when you see that, that really changes everything.

I mean, think about it.

If the land is God's, then I don't have a right to exploit it or to exploit

others into selling the land for me.

Yes, I'm just, I'm not owning the land.

I'm just a steward of it.

You know, I might lease it, I might use it for a time, but I don't have the

right to hoard or manipulate it with people, and that's why what I love,

God gave clear instructions here is he says, don't raise the price unfairly.

Don't take advantage of someone despite their situation.

Don't use someone's misfortune as an opportunity to have personal gain.

Because God was really trying to teach his people during this time how to treat,

treat each other with dignity and respect.

Yep.

He was building a society where justice and mercy mattered more than

just making a quick profit where no one could permanently be left

behind, where people were always given a path back to restoration.

So when someone was selling the land, they were really just leasing

it based on how many harvests were left in the next jubilee.

That meant everyone knew it was just temporary.

So for example, if Michael Morris over here, he had a plot of land and

I wanna buy it from him, and the next Jubilee is in three years, Michael

can't just upcharge me for those three years because everyone knows, hey, the

jubilee's coming, the land's gonna be his.

And I love that right there.

'cause it's easy for us as humans to wanna make a quick buck, to want to profit,

to do all these things to each other.

But God is saying, no, no, no, not on my watch.

Because I know how you people are.

All right.

I love you guys, but man, I just know how you guys are.

All right.

Let's not do that.

And I just love that 'cause it reminds us, and the Jubilee even reminds

us that everything we have is from God and we are called to handle the

things we've been given with humility.

You know, that's the kind of of community that God was building back then, and

that's even something that is continuing to be built right now through us.

Amen.

So not only does God call his people to, to release what they have, not only does

he command them to to return to their lands and forgive each other for their

debts, but then he goes one step further.

He tells them to stop working the land completely during the jubilee year.

And I dunno about you guys, but reading that, I was like, what?

You want me to stop working?

And that's a very legitimate question, and we'll see what God has

to say here in verse 18 through 22.

He says, follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and

you'll live safely in the land.

Then the land will yield its fruits and you'll eat your fill and live there.

In safety, you may ask, what will we eat in the seventh year if we

do not plant or harvest our crops?

I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land

will yield enough for three years.

While you plant during the eighth year, you'll eat from the old crop and

will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.

I dunno about you guys, but that sounds like a great deal.

I mean, what God is essentially saying here is, Hey, I know this sounds wild.

I know this doesn't make sense for you financially.

I know you're used to working hard and hustling and grinding, trying

to survive, but what I want for each and every one of you is to stop.

Let the land rest.

Let my people rest.

Amen.

Not only that, trust me,

I dunno about you guys, but that is a radical call of trust in God right there.

I mean, imagine God told you right now.

Don't go to work for a year.

Don't worry.

I'll make sure you have enough.

I dunno about you, but if he were to tell me that I, I'll be like, God are, are you?

You must have the wrong Daniel.

Because based off my statements, based off, you know, everything I have,

I'm like, God, I really don't think I have enough for you to cover me.

But here, that's what God was asking Israel and to help them out.

He didn't just say, you know, oh, just trust me without action.

No, he said he promised to provide in advance.

He said, I'll bless the sixth year so much.

You'll have enough for the seventh, the eighth, and the ninth year

while you wait for the next harvest.

You know, God was giving them space to rest and during that time he didn't want

'em to just rest and just nap all day.

But no, he wanted to teach them how to rely on him, on their, not on their

own ability to produce or grind, or to strategize their way through life.

You see, the Jubilee wasn't just about what you let go of physically.

It's about what you let go of internally as well.

Your need for control, your anxiety about your future, your belief

that everything depends on you.

All of that needs to be released.

During the year of Jubilee, God was training his people to live differently,

to stop running themselves into the ground, to stop living, like everything

dependent on their human effort.

What he was trying to say to them is, I'm your provider.

Yeah, trust my timing.

Heck, trust my math, trust my heart.

And I think that speaks to many of us today.

'cause we live in a world where we feel like rest is irresponsible.

We feel guilty if we're not doing something productive.

We measure our worth by what we produce, by how full our schedules are.

But God reminds us here in this year of Jubilee that you

are not your productivity.

You are not your hustle.

You are a child of God and he will take care of you.

You know, the question is, will we trust him enough to rest, to

stop grasping and start believing?

And I'm not talking about the rest where we just watch Netflix all day, church.

I'm talking about the rest where we really trust God and what we're resting

is, all right, I want to be close to him.

I wanna learn more about him.

But in doing so, I'm not thinking about how, oh, in this time I could

be working right now, or maybe going to the gym, doing this and that.

No, but using this time to really trust and rely and connect with

him, you know, God, his people for a year of Jubilee, can we even maybe

dedicate an hour of Jubilee to him?

You know, that's the invitation of Jubilee.

You know we're gonna continue on here in verse 23.

It reads, the land must not be sold permanently because the land is mine and

you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers through, throughout the land

that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

If I can drop one of these mics, I would do that for God.

'cause that was a mic drop moment for, he's saying the land is mine.

You know, and most culture back then, and even now, land meant power.

The more land you have, the more wealth you had, the more status,

the more security you had.

Land was something, and I still today, people fight over in war.

It's what family passed down for generations.

But God stops 'em right there and says, don't forget, I'm the owner.

You're just living in it.

You're not the source.

You're not the provider, you're just a steward.

They were to see themselves as temporary residents, even foreigners

and strangers to the land.

I dunno about you guys, but that is a humbling truth right there.

You know?

That's how God wanted Israel to see the land, and honestly, that's how he

wants us to see everything we have.

I mean, think about the most valuable possession that you have.

It may be a home that's not yours.

That's God's.

It may be your car.

It's not yours.

That's God's is.

It's your job or your money, or your talents, your time,

whatever it is, church.

It all belongs to him.

You know, this is a huge, huge part of the Jubilee, the realization

that we're not owners trying to protect our stuff, but we're stewards

called to reflect God's heart.

And God's heart is generous.

God's heart is compassionate.

And because of all that, what does that mean for you and I?

It means that greed can't take root in a heart that knows it's

only borrowing what belongs to God.

It means we can share, we can give, we can forgive and restore because we're not

building our own small little kingdom.

We're living in God's kingdom.

Amen.

And I dunno about you guys, but that is so freeing for me.

Because when I stop trying to be the owner of everything, I can finally

rest in the truth that God owns it all.

And I don't know about you guys, but God proves to be a great owner

in everything I have in my life.

You know, I realized when I began to really trust God and just taking

ownership in any part of my life, whether it's my, my finances, whether

it's, uh, my marriage, my friendships, I realized like God really manages

so much better when he's at the center of it rather than myself.

Yeah.

And because of that, Jubilee calls us to live open handed, trusting that God

who provides will continue to provide.

That's the heart of releasing, but more importantly, that's the heart and

even the invitation of Jubilee will continue reading here in verse 25 20, it

says, if one of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell some of their

property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold.

If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them, but later on

they prosper and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves.

They are to determine the value for the years since they sold it and refund the

balance to the one whom they sold it.

They can then go back to their property, but if they do not acquire

the means to repay, uh, what was sold, uh, will remain in the possession of

the buyer until the year of Jubilee.

It will be returned in the Jubilee and they can go back to their property.

You know, in ancient Israel land wasn't just real estate.

It was an inheritance.

It was an identity.

It was a legacy being passed on to you.

It was part of God's covenant with his people.

So when someone had to sell their land, because they fell on hard

times, it wasn't just a financial transaction, it was a loss of hope.

It was a loss of security, and it can kind of feel the same

way with us today, church.

Maybe when, I dunno about you, but when my car breaks down, it has to go in the shop.

I'm like, what do I do?

Where's my sense of security?

How do I do this?

Or even when I was younger, I remember we, we had some, uh, issue with

our houses and our finances of it.

And I just remember being on edge, like, oh my gosh, like, what's gonna happen?

You know, everything that I was feeling, they were feeling as well.

But the beautiful thing here, what I love about what God was

building here is God was building redemption right into the system.

Yep.

God said, wait for the jubilee.

'cause in the year Jubilee, the land automatically returned to its owner.

No debt had to be paid, no negotiations required.

The land was just simply returned back.

Even today, this reminds us that God is always working towards

redemption and even restoration.

Even when we can't see a way, it's a reminder to trust that we have is God, and

when we lose it, he can return it to us.

You know we're continue reading here in verse 35.

It says, any one of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support

themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger so

they can continue to live among you.

Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God so that

they may continue to live among you.

You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food out of 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.

I mean, there it is again, talking about foreigners and strangers.

You know, God doesn't just care about the land or the the economy.

What he cares deeply about are the people, and especially those who

are in need, who are struggling.

He says, if your fellow Israelites becomes poor and cannot maintain

themselves, you must help them.

He didn't say try to help them.

He said, he didn't say, do it when it feels right for you or

when it's comfortable for you.

He said, you must help them.

How about you guys?

But to me, this is not optional.

It's not a suggestion, it's a command.

But it's not a command just from God being all rude.

I really believe it's a command that is rooted in compassion.

If someone falls on hard times, he's saying, man, the community should step in.

You don't look the other way.

You don't blame them.

You don't capitalize on their crisis.

In fact, God even says clearly, no charging interest, no making

profit off someone else's pain, and not to exploit people when

they're at their most vulnerable.

Because God reminds him that you were once slaves in Egypt and I brought you.

I didn't charge you.

I didn't oppress you, but I rescued you.

God is calling his people to mirror this same mercy he had on his people.

This is part of the Jubilee.

It's a radical call to empathy because God is building a society,

not on greed, but on grace.

It's God saying the, the way I love you now go and love

each other the exact same way.

And it shows here in verse 39, it reads, if any of your fellow Israelites

become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.

They're to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you.

They're to work for you until the year of the Jubilee.

Then they and their children are to be released and they will go back to their

own clans and to the property of their ancestors because the Israelites are my

servants whom I brought out of Egypt.

They must not be sold as slaves.

Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.

You know, this passage just shows us a picture of God's heart for his people,

his desire for dignity and justice to be done even in the midst of hardship.

You know, back then if someone fell into deep poverty, that they had no

choice but to sell themselves into slavery or into servitude to survive.

But God made sure that even then, they're not to be treated as property.

He says, do not treat them as slaves.

Instead treat them as hired workers.

People with value, uh, with hope and restoration.

They weren't to be abused, owned, or treated less as, and

once again, the year of Jubilee.

It brought that liberty.

It brought them that freedom and that moment, everything got to reset.

No matter how long they had served, they were to be released.

Why?

Because God makes it clear that they are my servants who I brought out of Egypt.

They're not to be sold as slaves.

You know, God reminds the people of their own story.

You were once enslaved.

You know what it's like to be treated like when you don't mattered.

But even then.

I still rescue.

Do you know that in the grand picture of things, that was the heart of Jubilee,

this idea of release, we're seeing Jesus release people from debt, from bondage,

from burden, and hopefully, as you see here, as we were reading this scripture,

something that stood out to me was that release wasn't just for the oppressed,

but it was also for the oppressor.

It was released for those under authority and in authority as well.

For those under authority, it meant freedom from shame, from

debt, from burden, and for those in authority, it meant released from

greed, from pride, from control.

You know, wherever you guys are at this morning, we either fit in one

of those two categories, or maybe both of them, but whatever it is.

What is it that we need to be released from?

Because together it led to true freedom, both spiritually, relationally,

and even emotionally as well.

So the question is, what's holding you?

You know, today we're not living in Mosaic law, but the heart of

Jubilee is still alive in Jesus.

God still calls us to release what holds us captive.

Let me ask you honestly, church, what's holding you captive?

What are you chained to today?

You know, for many of us, we probably relate to a few of these

here, but maybe what's holding us captive is guilt and shame.

Maybe we feel guilt and shame about the past choices we've made.

Maybe the lifestyle we live, maybe it's that thing nobody else knows.

And it's heavy and it lingers with us.

Maybe what holds us captive is materialism.

It's this constant pressure to have more, to earn more, to show more,

and we become slaves to the chase.

What about control?

The need to manage everything yourself, to not let go.

Maybe it's bitterness.

Bitterness towards someone else.

Maybe it's bitterness towards someone in your family.

Maybe it's bitterness towards someone here in this room.

Maybe it's even bitterness towards God and it eats you alive on the inside.

Or maybe it's just sin.

Maybe there's a sin in your life that you constantly go back to.

Maybe that's lust.

Maybe it's pride, impurity, anger.

Name it, bitterness.

It can feel like a cycle.

You just can't break and you hate it and you just keep returning to it.

You feel guilt, but then you give in again and it's exhausting.

And honestly, it feels like it can become hopeless.

And what I love here is what Jesus says in John chapter eight, verse 34.

He says, Jesus replied very truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin

Church.

That's what sin does to us.

When we sin and we're, you know, we can't be open about it and it's holding

captive to us, we become enslaved to it.

But what's also very, I guess, encouraging maybe for us for sure, it's encouraging

is what Jesus says next though, in verse 35, 2 36, because what I love here is

Jesus doesn't say you're a slave to it.

He says You can do something about it.

Yes.

He says, now a slave has no permanent place in the family,

but a son belongs to it forever.

So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Amen.

Only Jesus can truly release our souls.

Only Jesus can break the chains of sin and shame.

Only Jesus can say, you are not a slave anymore.

You are mine.

And the question is, will we let him?

When we stop holding on and let Jesus release us from what's been

gripping us, you know, the year of Jubilee was all about release,

release from debt, from loss.

It was a time of restoration where God's people were given a clean slate, a second

chance, a return to what was once theirs.

You know, the same spirit was released and is available to us through Jesus today.

You know, in Luke four, what I love, he says, uh, Jesus came to

proclaim freedom for the prisoners and to set the oppressed free.

Jesus is our jubilee.

Jesus offers us freedom.

But here's the catch though, church, we have to choose to

participate in that release.

We have to be willing to let go of what's holding you captive.

The offer is on the table.

You don't have to earn it.

You don't have to qualify for it, qualify for it, but you do have to respond to it.

Jubilee only help people if they trusted God enough to live in it.

And the same is true for us.

But if we're being honest here, we all carry something.

There's something that enslaves us, that burdens us, that robs us, peace, that robs

us, the joy, the liberty, and the freedom.

So what is it for you?

What is holding you captive?

Now, if you really want to experience Jubilee, I really think

we first have to identify it.

We have to be specific.

'cause the Jubilee isn't a vague idea.

It was meant to touch real areas of life.

So let's identify the chains that need breaking.

Is it the guilt and shame?

Is it the control?

Is it the materialism?

Is it sin?

Because Jubilee means you don't have to stay in captivity.

That you can overcome it.

Next we have to, once we identify, we have to release it to God,

not to the heir, not to chance, but to God who declares they

are my servants, not yours.

So maybe if it's guilt and shame, well guess what?

Jesus bore your shame on the cross.

You don't need to wear it anymore.

You are forgiven and you can continue to walk in freedom.

If it's materialism, we need to let go of earthly treasures for the

eternal treasure of what Jesus offers.

If it's control, then we gotta recognize that control is a myth that you're

not in control, and that's okay.

If it's bitterness, man, we gotta release it to God who is righteous and just we

have to let him be the judge, not us.

'cause this is your moment.

This is your jubilee.

This is our jubilee.

What do you need to release to God today so that you can return to freedom?

Amen.

You know, the concept of Jubilee wasn't just for ancient Israel.

It's a picture of freedom, release, and restoration that God

offers each of us through Jesus.

So let's not walk away just hearing good ideas.

I want to encourage, let's really live it out.

You know, let's try to live out Jubilee this week and how can we do that?

Let's get practical here.

Here's some action steps.

Uh, first.

Let's try to follow the week two reading, planning discussions.

I dunno about you guys, but I did week one and that was just tremendous.

You could scan the QR code if you want, but we also have hard

copies, uh, that you can get in the back from, from Craig over there.

We don't have enough for everyone, but if you're a hard copy person,

please by all means grab it.

But let's really try to do this reading plan and answer these questions.

Take time each day to read the assigned passages and reflect.

And don't try to rush, but really let's have the word reveal areas

of captivity or hardness in our own life, in our own heart.

Second, let's reflect.

What is God calling you to release?

Ask yourself honestly, is it guilt that cheney me to the past?

Is it bitterness that keeps me from moving forward?

Am I clean to control, are things I've never meant to carry?

Write it down.

Name it.

Bring it to the light.

And then lastly, we need to respond.

We should take one step this week.

Maybe it's a conversation you've been avoiding.

Maybe it's a confession.

Maybe it's simply a heartfelt prayer or surrender.

But let's respond to it this week because the heart of Jubilee, when you think

about it, it's simple but powerful.

It's release, release from debt, from bondage, from the

burdens that weigh us down.

Jubilee wasn't just meant for the past.

We can experience Jubilee today, a spiritual reset and a fresh release,

but for that to happen, we have to be willing to let go of what is holding

us captive and in the closeout here in Leviticus 25 verse S Consecrate the 50th

year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.

That same liberty and that same freedom is available to us right now.

And prayerfully, we each can experience Jubilee release today, not just in theory,

not just in words, but in our hearts, in our lives, and in our walks with God.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, church.