On Time. On Target. (Galatians 4: 4-7)
Good morning, brothers and sisters. We celebrate the first week of Advent this week. Can you believe it like 20 20 has been so weird just kind of snuck up on me this year. But this is the first week of Advent which means there's only three more Sundays between us and Christmas and so we're going to be rather than studying through a book or a passage each week. Will there be a different passage that offers kind of a reflection focused on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And today we're going to find out that when Jesus when he was born that night in Bethlehem. God was on time and on target and not only for the birth of Christ God is always on time and on target. And of course, we believe that you would be very surprised very surprised indeed if I preach something else. God tries his best to be on time. But sometimes he's a busy guy and he's not all that perfect. You would be very surprised to hear that. You probably wouldn't want to go to a church that didn't believe that God was Sovereign and therefore always on time and Always On Target. You would never sign a doctrinal statement that says Gods on time most of the time he does his best. I mean he he tries you wouldn't want to sign on to a doctrinal statement like that.
We would all say officially. Yes, sir, sir. We believe that God is on time and on target. My question is is do we really believe it. Do we really believe it? Because can we just be honest? It doesn't always feel this way. It doesn't always feel like he's on time. It doesn't always feel like he's on Target on time on Target and then the job loss comes at the worst possible time. What is a what is a of this belief that God is on time and on target. Where the relationship collapse happens at the worst possible time for the financial reverse or the car? Accident when things aren't going like they look like they're on time and on target. What do we believe and not only in our individual lives? Haven't you looked at world history and wondered are we really on time? Are we really On Target? Cuz this whole thing seems out of control to me this whole thing seems random. How did you notice that Dave Reger this morning selected a piece of scripture for Caleb to read for Hope and in that scripture talks about how how God is going to protect the nation of Israel and replant them. In 70 AD, they passed into non-existence East to be a nation. Where was God in that and then God had a very nice little reward for them in 1942 to remember what that was. His name was Adolf Hitler and he executed 6, where is this God on time and on target does don't just feel like sometimes life mops that in history marks.
What do we do?
When our belief says God is on time and on target, but our observation say something different. He looks neither on time nor On Target the data. I'm in the Bible is with the Bible is I get that but the data the real data, I see with my own eyes suggest that he's not on time and he's not on target. This whole thing is random. It's out of control. What do we do when our observations and our thinking lead us to someplace different that the Bible says?
Friends, we believe the Bible that's what we do because we know that what we see is very limited what we can see in history is very limited were alive for a very short. Of time and not only in time are we limited but we are limited in scope Even in our like we're living today on November 29th, 2020. We're not seeing what's going on in India right now. We're not seeing what's going on. We not only can see a very limited slice of time. But we see a very limited slice of what's happening in our time. And even if we could see everything we have very limited cognitive abilities when our eyes tell us that God is Not on time when our experience tells us that God is Not on target. We still believe we just believe our eyes and we believe what God says what Ric can be easily manipulated as a matter of fact. It's a matter of fact, I'm going to do my very best to manipulate your eyes right now. A friend on here. I just wanted to see We believe We believe We Believe.
Ability to see into reason into a symbol there but very limited. And can easily be manipulated. We trust the Bible more than we trust ourselves with these three cards. I want these three cards to represent mysteries of life that we can never know. There's something on the back of these cards are we can't know what's on the back of the cards unless God reveals it and let's say that God has revealed a history of life here. He says is a joker this Mystery of Life here. The middle card is a king of hearts. And this Mystery of Life is another Joker top card is Joker middle card is King of Hearts. Bottom card is Joker. We can't see these cards. So we just have to see whether we're going to believe God or not. And it's the devils. Passion to make sure that we don't. Open the first card and he'll say. Wasn't that supposed to be a joker? Just me look like a joker to me. And we feel disoriented. God did say the top card is a joker. But he did mention a king of hearts. Maybe he just got the order wrong. I'm sure that this card will be the Joker. And of course, it's not it's another king of hearts. Another crisis is a little deeper. Because not only has God got the order wrong, but he's got the proportions wrong. There's at least two kings of hearts in there and one Jokers a third card is going to be the Joker. Oh my goodness.
It seems obvious to me says the devil. That your father has deceived you. This is just a deck. A3 Kings of hearts
And if we believe them he's got us. Because what has happened and I was very important listen beloved. Substituted our faith in what God told us for what we thought we saw.
The devil has successfully taken us off the anchor and we are adrift with no Mooring. And now it's easy now he can get us to believe anything. He wants us to believe. I noticed you indicated an interest in Jokers. He says. I happen to have one. It was this talk card all along. and not only do I have one Joker I have to It was this middle card all along. Do you know what this card is, don't you?
It's a third Joker.
What are these cards?
Are they the three king of hearts that we seem to see?
Are they the three Jokers that we seem to see? Friends, we should never have believed our eyes. We should have believed what God told us because they are exactly what he said.
So it's this whole pastoring thing doesn't work out. Please join me in Vegas.
I think one of the things that we feel forced into his evangelicals is either denying what we see or denying what we believe when I'm trying to illustrate is we can acknowledge what we see God does look out of control history does not look on time, but he is not out of control. He is not if I knew the whole story if I could see everything things can be easily manipulated to show you that there are in fact three kings of heart. There are not there's one and there are in fact three Jokers. There's not there too. And they were in the order that God said they were going to be in Should we start with our passage where it says but in the fullness of time God when the fullness of time had come God sent. We'll look at this modifying phrase here. We'll look at this modifying phrase here, but when the fullness of time to come but kids this is your sermon note here. The two most important words are but God. We were in a lost condition and nothing was going to change that we were all going to die and go to hell and you know, why cuz we deserve it. That was the right and proper thing to do but. It's not for those two words, but God if he had not intervene if he had not changed the equation in some way. We would all be eternally lost. Not only did he intervene. He did something. This is a verb he sent. And when did he send in the fullness of time this hide this idea has the idea of perfect in at the perfect time. It has the idea of fulfillment.
When everything was ready God sent his son. And by the way, this whole idea of God acting in the fullness of time is certainly true for the birth of Jesus, but it's true for everything. Everything that happens happens in the fullness of time. I mean, this is talking about his birth. But later on in his ministry. Jesus says in Mark 1 14 and 15. Not after John was arrested. This is John the Baptist Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel when he saw that sign John the Baptist arrested the time is right now and now I have this message for you. The kingdom of God is at hand why because history despite what it looks like history is on a very planned course and it all happened in the fullness of time which by the way is not always our time. We would like we had some really good ideas about how God should run the universe and they are good ideas and it doesn't think them, you know, Jesus came to thousand years ago in the fullness of time, but they were a whole bunch of people before that that wanted Jesus to be born early. If you read through Hebrews 11 that Great Hall of faith. It talks about Abraham and all these people that have tremendous faith and it says in Hebrews 11:39 all these men of Faith through though commended through their faith did not receive what was promised they live with the promise. They died. No Jesus. No birth. It didn't happen on their watch. They would have loved it. What happened on their watch? You know what Jesus God does will not be manipulated. He runs history in the fullness of his time. History has a program does not look like it but history is happening exactly. The way God has planned it to happen. Not only had his birth, but I was deaf. Jesus says when Jesus Is Spoken these words he lifted up to his his eyes to heaven and said father the hour has come.
Now it's time for me to die. And he had no control of oil weight. Do you remember earlier in his ministry? He was reading Isaiah to the to the synagogue and then he finished with tendon in your hearing. This is fulfilled and the people are crazy. They're going to take him out back and kill him but it says it was not his time. So summon miraculous way. He just walked out why because of the fullness and he wasn't trying to avoid death, but that was not the fullness of time for his death. It wasn't part of the plan to visit the plant the hour has now, come am I give myself to you? Let them have their worst history is on a fullness of time program things happen when they're supposed to happen at the perfect time when things are fulfilled. Not only when Jesus was on Earth, but after he resurrected so when they had come together, they being the disciples they asked him Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel? And Jesus says no, he says he said to them is not for you to know the times there is a time. It's just not for you to know it. Just because you don't know what the perfect time doesn't is doesn't mean that there isn't a perfect time and it also doesn't mean that I don't know I know. It's just that you don't. Don't believe what you see in the deck believe what I tell you history is happening according to my plan and everything is rolling out in the perfect timing.
God is always on time and he's always on target. This particular time and this particular Target was to send forth his son and then there's two descriptive phrases about a son gets. This is in your notes. He was born of a woman. And he was born under the law. What is this mean what he was born of a woman in the traditional way? He came out the birth canal from a human woman making him a human and he had to be a human don't you remember? Adam and Eve fall and God is pursuing a blessing rather than a curse. In Genesis 315 he promises Our Savior and he says between your seed and the woman see there will always be ended if the woman see that talk to my normal. Birth. Jesus was born of a woman in the normal way as a human being. He was also born not only of a woman but under the law which means because he was born as a as a man as a human. He was under the jurisdiction of the law. He was obligated to obey it just like we are the difference is he did and we don't. Why are these things important?
They're important because they qualify him to redeem us. To redeem the human race. You need a human. To redeem people under the law you need someone under the law by the way, fun fact this have you ever wondered could Satan be saved could have fallen angel be saved. Could they just repent and just say I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I meant we know that Satan won't repent because it's already written in the book that he's wanting to like a fire, but theoretically could Satan repent.
Answer is no he has no Savior. Jesus wasn't born of an Angel. He would enter redeem the angel kind. He was born of a woman it if you remember several years back, we did our big book study on Ruth and we talked about the idea of a kinsman redeemer to redeem someone you have to be in the same family. Jesus was born into our family to perfectly positioned to be our kinsman redeemer. He is not the kinsman-redeemer for Angels. There is no Plan of Salvation for Angels once angels are falling they're falling there is no hope and they live with that every day and will forever but our savior was born at the perfect time and he was born of a woman and he was born under the law. So I want to make full four points this morning. And the first point is is that the fullness of time has come. Human beings live for thousands of years without a savior the hope of a savior the promise of a savior, of course God the son existed, but he had not come in incarnate form. He had not died for our sins. But now we are a favorite people. We live in the time after the fullness of time. We live after that perfect time. We're God said God the father said, okay. No. No. No now now and by the way, why does he say now? Why why was 3 BC or so? The perfect time in history why?
The interest we don't know we don't know the Bible never says why it was the fullness of times. It just says it was but can I offer you three guesses? These are not biblical truth. This is me. Guess what? What? What did God the Father see in history that said, now maybe three things. First of all, the world was at peace. The Roman Empire was sufficiently large that it could it wasn't always a happy piece, but there was pieced. It wasn't warring Nations. It was the right time to bring the Savior into an a unified World by the way, Rome had not only brought peace. They had brought roads. For the first time in the in history, there was a network of working Road on which you could travel and propagate the gospel that may have been a reason that the Roman Empire may have set the stage at not only that but the Roman Empire basically had one language Greek. So now you have a United World with an industrial-strength Road system and one language the perfect time to bring the message that needs to be communicated to all Humanity. A third reason might be these are just the guesses of a Madman but the Jewish nation was finally finished with idolatry holes and they're worshipping Baal super guy with these other gods are very nice. Don't you think by the time you get to Jesus time? They had given up on idolatry. They had been punished so often and so severely they never went back juice still have not gone back to idolatry. They worship only one God and so maybe from the Roman and the Greek and the Jewish perspective. This was the exact right moment in history. We don't know that we just know that God the father said This is the phone that's a time. It's time to move. We may not know why this was the fullness of time. But we do know what it was time to do. Jesus came with bathe. Basically two missions one is to redeem by the way. He who did he redeem those under the law and those born of women? That's why he had to be born of a woman and born under the law to be our Kinsmen to redeem us, but he came to redeem but he also came to set up the papers for adoption. And this is important.
You can't just adopt people. You just can't walk into a nursery and say I'll take the second from the left. You can't do that paperwork. There's things that got to be checked out. Well, we can't be adopted into the family of God without being redeemed. We can't be our old sinful Hellbound self and be adopted into the family of God. We need to be redeemed for that was selling the paper, right? You know, it's my privilege to perform weddings. You just can't marry people. Like I just can't show up and even if two people want to be married, I just can't show up and marry them. You have to do one of two things. There's paperwork. You either have to go get a license from the government or I have to publish the banns in the church, but it why why do we do that?
Well, I forgot to check so I think I'm right, but I I did forget to check this week to make sure that I'm right. I think I'm right though. The government is checking for three things one. Are you old enough to get married? You have to be of a certain age number to are you already married if you have been previously married and that divorce is not complete. You can't get married again. You can't be married to two people at the same time. We need to do these checks. You need to do the paperwork. And the third thing is I need to check to see whether you are marrying someone of to close a relation. There are rules about how close in your own family. You can marry somebody and get this paperwork that need to be done. You need to be put in the position to be married, but we need to be it put in the position to be adopted. And to do that we need to First be redeemed and we are Redeemed by a kinsman redeemer born of a woman and under the law in the fullness of time at exactly the right moment in history.
You know, this read leads us to our second important thought not only has the fullness of time come. But we are now sons and daughters.
Just think of that. We are now officially legally irreversibly in God's family. You are a son or a daughter of God. If you have come to the place where you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your personal savior, you have been both redeemed and adopted and by the way, this is not the primary truth. But it's an ancillary truth. It's a complimentary truth and it's just as true because we're All Sons & Daughters. You and I are brothers and sisters. We have the same dad. We need to treat each other accordingly. And by the way, it's not always nice. You don't know what you don't get to pick you get to pick your friends and your nose, but you don't get to pick your family. And sometimes you know, we just can't stand the people are okay. That's fine. Whatever but we're still family. And we need to treat each other accordingly.
And because you were Sons Aha and because he's setting up a sequence here because you are Sons. How do we get to be son's again or will we got adopted? I just mentioned that oh, okay what happens now? Well because you are Sons because the paperwork is finished because you are officially now in the family of God, like it's a legal thing like they keep track of stuff like this in the oven called The Book of Life and your names in it. This is official stop. This isn't a wing and a prayer. This isn't a happy thought. This isn't philosophy class. This is a legal proceeding you're adopted you are actually officially in the family of God. Now it's appropriate that for two gods for God to send his Spirit into our hearts. This is very very important and it's different. you are Sons is talking about our let me try this again our position.
We have a new position. We have a new legal standing. And by the way, this is written in the first century in Rome. A son would have a legal standing like when his dad dies there's certain laws that talk about inheritance and who carries on the family line and so forth when you are sun in in Roman society, even an adopted son. You have a new position you have new rights. You have new responsibilities. We are adopted. We are talking about a new position. But he sent his son into his Spirit into our hearts isn't talk to you about a new position. It's talking about a new nature. We don't like the things we used to like we don't do the things we used to do. We don't want what we used to want. Our position has changed external legal. So is her very nature changed. This is talking about our position. This is talking about our nature. This is talking about our legal standing. This is talking about who we are this is talking about with the book say this is talking about what our heart says. Which leads us to another really important truth. We have not only been adopted we're being transformed. We're being transformed. We're in the process of it right now. The adoption happens all at once. You're not a Christian. You're not a Christian. You're not a Christian. Oh, what's that? You've accepted the Lord. You're a Christian and you'll never be more of a Christian instantaneous a binary thing a light switch transformation is not like that transformation starts at the moment of salvation, but then progresses until you die and then is completed when you die and we are glorified. We have perfect bodies. Perfect Hearts were perfect moral copies of Jesus, but we are in the process of being transformed right now and I just have a hopeful word for you that the transformation is occurring in your heart right now because when you were adopted he sent his son is his spirited Your Heart by the way, Sending his Spirit into your heart would not be appropriate. It would be totally inappropriate if you were not in the family over in the family now. We're in the family. The sonship is the legal, right? The spirit is our likeness. We are related to the father and now we're becoming like him. It's a beautiful thing. We're being transformed and it's just begun. I have a hopeful word for you that this transformation is going to continue and it gets even better. And not only the creation but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit the the the the the spirit being in our hearts is great. It's just the beginning. That's why the Bible calls that the first fruits. There's a whole crop yet to come. We're at first fruits. We're not at Harvest Harvest is way better than first fruits. And not only the creation but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit groan inwardly. Always we want it so bad we can taste it as we wait eagerly not passively we can't wait we think about it. Are you hearing 1st Peter again to live in The Hope living future life understand that embrace it allow it to fuel. Holy life in the here and now because we wait it eagerly we groan inwardly for the adoption as sons and the Redemption of our bodies friends.
You're going to get a new body. I know I've said this before but at the risk of boring you further, let me just say that I'm becoming more aware that I'm getting old. I don't think of myself as old and I'm not I have no limitations yet. But even when I was I did the card trick by the way on video because I'm not confident in my a manipulation abilities to do it live plus you would be too far away to see it. But when I was watching the video, I noticed age spots on my hand that I've never noticed before. And sometimes when I get up my back is a little creaky that I've never noticed before.
Maybe you've noticed some of the same things. if you haven't you will it happens to all of us, but I just want to remind you that we're being transformed and not only our hearts but everything our hearts our bodies and the world we live in. That's why it says, I'm not only the creation groans. The creation is groaning. I can go back to that eating thing to eat. I loved and I can't wait to get back there. So is creation our bodies are saying the same thing. Our hearts are saying the same thing we're being transformed because in the fullness of time. God sent someone born of a woman under the law to redeem us. to adopt us into transform us Notice this great work of Salvation will go back a little bit. Just look at versus together here. The only point I want to make here is the work of Salvation is of God the father. He sent the son. Oh, wait a minute. It's also of the son. He's the one that was sent and died for us all wait a minute. It's of the spirit. He's the one that lives in our heart. the work of salvation Is a work of the entire Trinity? All three persons in the godhead are intimately involved. Have you noticed that a major Junctions in the story of Salvation all three show up? Do you remember when Jesus was baptized God the father says this is my son in whom I well pleased. The sun is baptized. The Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove. Here again, we're talking about the Plan of Salvation and I find it impossible to talk about the Plan of Salvation says Paul without talking about the father. and the song and the spirit because the work of Salvation is the work of the trinity. Do you know where you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son than an air through God, I'm just about done just one slide after two slides after this, but I just wanted to remind you beloved. You are heirs. You are are you have not got your full inheritance. You've got you may I say without being disrespectful to Salvation. You have got a modest down payment from Death to life. I went from Darkness to light. My name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life. My heart was renewed if you don't think that's pretty great. I think that's pretty great. But compared to the rest of the inheritance that's a modest down payment. You are an heir and what you will inherit has not been seen yet live in that hope.
And my fourth point is we are in the fullness of time. God sent to savior as a result when our sons and daughters in the process were going we're being transformed and we will one day be completely transformed free from the power penalty and Pedal Power pedal and presence of sin and we are heirs. Just let me point out one last subtlety in the text that you may have missed particularly the way I presented it in verse verse verse. I kind of put a bunch of horses together here because there is a shuttle subtle shift in the text that if you're not looking carefully, you might miss let me show you what that is. to redeem those who were under the law that we Might receive adoption as Sons we is plural and you can tell we is plural because it's not talking about our son. It's talking about Sons. And because you have the English word you you can't tell whether it's singular or plural without the contacts. That's why in the South they say y'all I could say Heidi. How are you doing? That singular? I can say hey, how are you doing? Same three letters y o u but singular plural, you can't tell until you look at the context. It's not you as a son. It's plural Sons. So this plural this year was plural. This is plural and this is plural. God sent the spirit of his son into our Hearts hearts is plural. Our is plural. This is plural. This is talking about a group.
Where the group?
What's your point? My point is to finish changed for 7 so you I don't know where that singular or plural no longer a slave. Okay. This is singular.
Ah son, this is singular. and if Loops are going to miss all my you have to remember what I wrote there a sun so plural plural plural singular singular singular and are singular. This is all plural. This is all singular. This is talking about the group. This is talking about you.
Sometimes we get lost in the group. You're here at an Evangelical Church. You knew we preach the Bible right? And you guys ever heard of Jesus Christ. We talked about him constantly. Yeah. My grandpa came my dad came here. I am so I guess I'm here. Maybe maybe Paul the same. What about you? I know we have been adopted and we are sons in the spirit lives in our hearts. Are you adopted?
Have you received him? Are you really part of this group? Can you just think about that for a moment?
So I want to ask you. as Advent starts and as we turn our attention to the coming of the Savior, may I ask you is your friend and there's your posture. Have you received Jesus as your lord and savior? The fullness of time has come. The door is open. The offer has made. May I just ask you this afternoon to quietly reflect on yourself? Have you? Or have you we love you either way we do and you can come come all you want knock yourself out. We love to see you register first, but come. It's not about whether we love you. It's about whether you're saved or not. It's not weather, but it's not about whether you're physically here. It's about whether you're one of us. and you may say
I'm honestly not sure. As a matter fact, I'm honest. I'm not even sure I understand what you're asking. Have you received Jesus as your lord and savior? I understand. Those are English words. I do not know what you mean by that. Well, may I just say? When you leave the exit door where Dwight is and live is when you go out that door on your left hand side. You will see copies of this little booklet called the story. I would invite you to take one home. Read it and it will explain who Jesus is what it means to have for him to be a savior and more importantly what it means for you to receive him as a savior. If you're in the basement with us this morning. I have placed some copies on the white table as you're leaving the basement through the exit door, which is at the front of the room. There's a white table there. I hope Place copies just discreetly pick one up and take if you're at home or go to our website in the see if I can remember this in the top left corner. There's a red triangle click on it. And then it'll say good news and you click on good news. And then you click on gospel click on gospel and then scroll to the bottom. There's a red button that says the story and you will have an electronic copy of this but I would ask you not to let the Christmas season pass not to let today pass without being able to answer the question in the affirmative or the negative. Have you received? Jesus as your lord and savior, and if the answer is no we love you and respect you, but we warned you. The fullness of time has come. Not only for the Savior to come but for you to receive him it's time today is your day today is the perfect time today is the Fulfillment of your story. Today is the day to receive Jesus Christ into your heart. And be redeemed. And be adopted and to begin the important work of transformation so that you can become who you've always known you should be. Heavenly Father we thank you for the truth the scripture. What were we thank you for two things. First of all, we thank you for the scripture itself. It is not maybe we may we say even in your presence to our eyes. It does not always look like you're on time. It looks like you're late. It looks like you're early looks like you're all over the place and it doesn't look like you're on target either looks like you're out of control. Looks like you're working on some secret agenda. It looks like you're not keeping your fulfillment. That's what it looks like. But we know that we have a very narrow slice of time a very slurry narrow slice of geography a very narrow slice of cognitive abilities. And so this morning we choose to believe you over our eyes. We believe that you act in the fullness of time. We thank you for the scriptures that reveal true that we could but not possibly know otherwise
We thank you for the scriptures. But the second thing we want to thank you for is what the scripture sent to us this morning.
I mean you could have said in the fullness of time you gave up on us and walked away. What if that were true that would have been also true and we would have thank you for revealing it, but it would have been a message of Despair and despondency and defeat. We not only thank you for the scriptures. But we thank you for what the scripture say. That in the fullness of time you sent but God sent. Your own son to redeem us. Thule the important work so that the paperwork of adoption could be accomplished
And then we change from Rebels to Sons to heirs.
And dead to alive and becoming increasingly alive as you transform as with your Holy Spirit. We thank you for the scriptures. But we thank you for what the scriptures have said.
and just as A member of our church. I just pray for people. Attending in the auditorium in the basement and online now when I'm actually saying these words in real time and at some future time when they're watching this on the internet, I pray holy spirit that you will do what we can. And that is to communicate with their hearts in such a way as to lose them to the Savior and allow him to save their souls and secure their Eternal future and we ask in Christ name. amen