Everything Belongs to God: Trust Him to Provide

Leviticus 25 carries forward the truth that God had already established through the feasts and Sabbaths: Israel’s time belongs to God, and now Israel’s economy belongs to God too. God brings a redeemed people out of Egypt and teaches them not to carry Egypt’s values into the promised land. Egypt formed them through endless labor, productivity, control, oppression, and human ownership. God forms His people through worship, rest, peace, redemption, mercy, and justice.

The kingdom of darkness shapes people while they live under its rule, but Christ makes His people new creations. The old has passed away, and the new has come. The culture of slavery cannot be allowed to remain in people who have been transferred into the kingdom of light. Christ calls saved people to renounce the ways of the world, the enemy, and the sinful nature, then to believe, desire, and do what God says in His Word.

God states the big idea repeatedly in Leviticus 25: “The land is mine.” God gives Israel land, livelihood, harvest, homes, time, and opportunity, but God never gives ownership away. Israel possesses the land as stewards, not owners. Sin resists that truth because sin says, “I am the owner,” and then tells people that safety depends on planning, striving, controlling, and holding tightly to what they have.

The Sabbath year exposes the illusion that work and land are the ultimate sources of provision. God commands Israel to plant and harvest for six years, then let the land rest in the seventh year. God anticipates the question, “What shall we eat?” and answers it with a promise: “I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year.” God does not deny the value of labor, skill, planning, or business. God puts all of them beneath His blessing and calls His people to trust Him.

Israel’s later refusal to keep the Sabbath years reveals that disobedience always carries consequences. The land finally received its Sabbaths during Israel’s exile because Israel persistently neglected God’s command. The Sabbath year also points beyond itself to Christ, because sinners cannot work themselves back into God’s favor. Jesus offers rest to those who labor under sin and guilt, and His finished work provides the only deep, true, and lasting rest.

Generosity, disciple making, ordered attention, and just business practices become practical ways to live as stewards. Christ remains the only source of security, acceptance, and significance. God calls every anxious hand to open, every false claim of ownership to be surrendered, and every possession, future, family, business, ability, and responsibility to be returned to its true Owner.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. God owns it, trust His provision [01:18:50] God’s ownership is not a threat to faithful stewardship. God gives resources, opportunities, and responsibilities, yet He remains the Provider beneath every human effort. Faith does not deny the need to work; faith refuses to treat work as God. Trust grows when anxious control gives way to obedient stewardship. [78:50]
• 2. Leave Egypt’s values behind [01:01:50] The kingdom of darkness can continue shaping desires long after a person has been redeemed. Old habits of lying, exploitation, sexual sin, fear, and self-protection do not fit a new creation in Christ. Christ does not merely add religious language to an old life; He makes a person new. Transformation requires the old ways to be renounced, not managed. [61:50]
• 3. Rest in Christ’s finished work [01:24:53] The Sabbath points to a rest that human achievement cannot produce. Christ alone has completed the work needed to reconcile sinners to God. Security, acceptance, and significance cannot be earned through career, possessions, ministry, or reputation. Faith enters rest by receiving what Jesus has finished. [84:53]
• 4. Generosity breaks possessions’ grip [01:27:40] Generosity reveals whether wealth serves God or rules the heart. Fear always says there will never be enough, even after the next raise, promotion, or opportunity arrives. Giving opens the hand because God’s provision is greater than present circumstances. Sacrificial generosity trains the heart to say, “God is my provider.” [87:40]
• 5. Lead businesses as God’s stewards [01:35:43] A business belongs to God just as surely as a home, career, or bank account. God’s ownership requires fair wages, honest contracts, healthy rhythms of work and rest, and care for people over expansion. Success becomes dangerous when workers are exhausted and worship, family, or integrity are displaced. Faithful leadership repeatedly submits the enterprise to Christ and seeks His wisdom.
  
  ## [95:43]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [52:06] - Worship Through Difficulty
• [53:07] - Leviticus 25 and God’s People
• [54:25] - Your Time Belongs to God
• [55:16] - It’s God’s: Trust Him
• [57:23] - Leaving Egypt’s Values Behind
• [60:19] - A New Creation in Christ
• [66:27] - The Land Is Mine
• [71:43] - The Sabbath Year and Jubilee
• [77:10] - What Shall We Eat?
• [78:50] - God Commands His Blessing
• [82:27] - Israel Neglects God’s Sabbath
• [84:13] - Sabbath Rest Points to Christ
• [87:25] - Practice Generosity
• [92:12] - Steward the Gospel and Make Disciples
• [94:50] - Leading a Business as a Steward
• [100:11] - Surrendering What Belongs to God

Bible Reading

Leviticus 25:1–7
The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest or gather the grapes of your undressed vines. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.” [01:11:20]

Leviticus 25:23
“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.” [01:06:32]

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. [01:02:05]

Matthew 6:19–21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [01:26:36]

Observation questions

1. In Leviticus 25:1–7, what work was Israel allowed to do for six years, and what were they commanded not to do in the seventh year? [01:14:27]
2. Who was included in the food provided by the Sabbath of the land, and what does that list show about God’s care for the whole community?
3. What words in Leviticus 25:23 describe God’s relationship to the land, and how are Israel’s people described in relation to Him? [01:15:38]
4. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, what has passed away for a person in Christ, and what has come in its place? [01:02:13]

Interpretation questions

1. Why would the command to let the land rest for a whole year require Israel to trust God more than their own farming skill, planning, and stored resources? [01:18:57]
2. What does God mean by saying, “The land is mine,” and how does that change the difference between being an owner and being a steward? [01:16:03]
3. How does the Sabbath year point beyond farming and harvests to the rest that Christ provides for people burdened by sin, guilt, and the need to earn acceptance with God? [01:24:13]
4. Why does Jesus connect a person’s treasure with that person’s heart in Matthew 6:19–21? What kinds of earthly treasures can quietly become a source of security or identity? [01:27:06]

Application questions

1. What is one area of life that is hardest to hold with an open hand—money, work, family, health, housing, plans, possessions, or something else? What would it look like to return that area to God as its true Owner? [01:40:11]
2. Where is the pressure to “make more, do more, and control more” shaping your thoughts or schedule? What boundary could help make room for worship, prayer, family, fellowship, or real rest? [01:33:52]
3. God’s provision does not remove the need for work, wisdom, planning, or effort; it puts them under His blessing. Where are you most tempted to treat your own effort as your ultimate source of safety? [01:19:08]
4. Generosity loosens the grip that possessions can have on the heart. What is one practical way you could give, serve, or meet a genuine need this week rather than waiting until you feel like you have “enough”? [01:27:21]
5. Since believers are new creations in Christ, what old pattern from “Egypt”—such as dishonesty, fear, self-protection, sexual sin, exploitation, or harsh words—needs to be renounced and replaced with obedience to God’s Word? [01:01:24]
6. If you lead others at work, in a business, at home, or in ministry, how can you make sure people are not being exhausted or neglected for the sake of success, growth, or productivity? [01:35:43]
7. Christ’s finished work is the only lasting source of acceptance, significance, and security. When do you most look to career, relationships, achievement, or possessions to give you what only Jesus can give? [01:25:58]