Sound The Jubilee

The theme this year for Renewal Lutheran Church (my new church) is "Sound the Jubilee". The verse for this theme is taken from Luke 4:19, "To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

The Jubilee is part of the old testament law where on every 50th year the land must be rested from all agricultural activities. The other significant facts about the Jubilee are:

• all the debts owing until that day will be cancelled or written off
• any Israelite that has been sold on slavery must be set free
• all the land that has been sold during the 49 years must be returned to its original owner

For us Christians, we believe that we have entered into a perpetual Jubilee from the moment Jesus died on the cross, where all our sin-debts has been cancelled and all those who are bound as a slave to sin has been set free once and for all, and we are to return to our inheritance as children of God.

However, our Jubilee, just like any other promises of God in the bible, it doesn't happen automatically. We have to firstly be aware that we have that promise, secondly ask God for it and thirdly believe that we have it.

That is why Ps. Joshua, having received the word from God, has proclaimed that year 2008 shall be a year of Jubilee for the whole church.

Quite amazingly, with just a mere few weeks into year 2008, the church has already experienced its manifestation of the Jubilee. The following testimony was shared in today's church service:

There is this anonymous church member who for the past one year had this secret desire to help paying off the church building debt (incurred for the purchase of the church building some 10 years ago), so he prayed to God to provide the money. Some time ago recently, the Lord has blessed this brother tremendously, that he was able to issue a cheque to pay off completely the church building debt, which amounted to more than RM2 million!

Wow! Talk about leadership by example! The pastor and the church leadership proclaimed the Jubilee by faith, taught the church about it, and God has blessed the ministry by the miraculous cancellation of debt.

God is with RLC, and he did not let the words of the pastor to fall to the ground! (1 Samuel 3:19).

The Jubilee has been proclaimed for this year. The church as a whole is already experiencing it. Now it is up to the individual member of the church to claim it for himself personally.

I thank God for this blessing. I am so excited for this year. I believe that this is going to be a year of breakthroughs! I am believing God for it, and claiming it for myself in Jesus' name.