The Blessing of the Fifth Year
Leviticus 19:25 “And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.”
Ever since the beginning of the new year, I have begun to receive testimony after testimony of what God has done in the lives of friends of Elyon Ministries—–everything from restoration of relationships to the restoration of finances. My reply to these wonderful testimonies has been “That’s the blessing of the fifth year. I’ll be sending you that message soon.” Well, beloved of God, here it is!
At the end of 2003, I began to look back on the events of the year. I picked up the newspaper and began to read the names of all the celebrities that had passed away. Next, I began to look back at 2000, which did not seem that far away. I recalled the “Y2K scare” and remembered all the preparation for the “doom’s day” that never manifested. Finally, I found myself simply counting the years of the millennium. After doing so, an interesting fact came to me: “2004 is not the fourth year of this millennium; it’s the fifth,” and then I was led to our text.
In Leviticus 19:25, the Lord God tells the children of Israel that in the fifth year of coming into their new land, they shall eat of the fruit. Now that in itself should be enough to make a brother or sister shout. What I’m telling you prophetically is that it’s reaping time! Every seed you have sown, in the name of Jesus and by the Holy Ghost, I proclaim that this year you shall reap the harvest, enjoy the harvest, and plant more seed to get a bigger harvest next time.
The prayers you prayed constantly, consistently, and continually for lost loved ones, I proclaim that you shall see them manifest in this year. Relationships that have been broken shall be restored. Financial seeds that you have planted in previous years shall come to full harvest in this, the fifth year. I proclaim double promotion over you in this year. Not only will you get a new job, a better job, and/or a more fulfilling job, but also you will get a promotion and/or an increased salary. I proclaim healing in your body where doctor’s said there would be none and wholeness in your life where others said that there would always be lack. Why are all of these good things going to happen? For clarity, let’s look back at the text for a moment.
Leviticus 19:25(a) “And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof….”
This portion of text instructs the children of Israel—-AND US—- to consume the fruit. In other words, you will get to enjoy the harvest in a way you never have before. Simply put, you get this blessing just so you can enjoy it! I get the healing just to enjoy the health. I get the peace just to be at peace. I get more money just to have more money! YES!!!!! Now if that is not enough for you here is more…
Leviticus 19:25(b) “that it may yield unto you the increase thereof:”
So let’s put these pieces together. You are empowered to get the fruit just to enjoy the fruit, and because you enjoy the fruit, increase will come? Yes! God is going to increase you in this, the fifth year, and because you will enjoy the increase sooooo much, more increase will come! Believe me, this will mess up the religious folk who believe God is the God of just enough. However, I know, like most of you do, that He is the God of more than enough. He desires for you to have the best of the best and more of the best. He delights in your enjoyment of His goodness. Let me use an example if I must.
This Christmas, Veronica and I bought a Barbie “Smart Kitchen” for Veresia, our 3 year old. Now when I say smart, I mean smart. If you put food in the oven, the stove will tell you what specific food you put in the oven and how to cook it. If you put vegetables in a pot and place the pot on the stove, Barbie will tell you what type of vegetable you put on the stove. On top of all of this, if you leave items unattended, Barbie will remind you to stir the vegetables on the stove or check the food in the oven “or it will burn”—-most adults need this feature. The stove also comes with “sets of food” so you can cook different meals.
From the time Veresia opened the stove until now, that little girl has been cooking up a storm. She has cooked more turkey dinners in the last week than I’ve cooked in my entire life. Needless to say, she enjoys her gift. Now get this.
Because she enjoys this gift so much, I’m planning to go to Toys R’ Us and buy EVERY other meal set in the store. Why? Because I want to see her get greater enjoyment out of her toy. (I hope you see your Heavenly Father within this story.) I’m telling you, a day has not passed that I have not had this desire. Now if I, being human, felt this way about blessing my daughter, how do you think God feels about blessing you?
Matthew 7:11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
This year will be the greatest year of your life. The blessing that is coming will lead to more blessings. It will not just stop at restoration but it will culminate with the enjoyment of the restoration. God is not going to just take you back to when it was good; He’s going to lead you into the “it gets better!” It is His passion to bless you to the point where even the blessing gets you a blessing, and that is the blessing of the fifth year!
Happy New Year!!!
