Jesus and Time

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:06.599 Well, please remain standing and let's turn our attention to glacians, for I'm 2 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:12.230 going to be preaching a few sermons from this passage. We're going to be 3 00:00:12.310 --> 00:00:22.780 reading glacians four, versus four through seven. This is a beautiful passage. 4 00:00:23.260 --> 00:00:28.379 In verse four in particular, Paul lists several things about the coming of Christ 5 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:33.659 and there's four things there and I'm going to preach on one this morning and 6 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:37.130 then one this evening and then one the next morning and then one the next 7 00:00:37.130 --> 00:00:40.450 evening. So one, two, three, four. So I hope you'll 8 00:00:40.450 --> 00:00:46.369 be able to come for all of those. So first glacians four, verse 9 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:51.759 for but I'll read through verse seven. But when the fullness of time had 10 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:57.079 come, God send forth his son, born of a woman, born under 11 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:00.960 the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we 12 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:04.829 might receive adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent the 13 00:01:04.950 --> 00:01:11.189 spirit of his son into our hearts, crying Abba father. So you are 14 00:01:11.269 --> 00:01:17.189 no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an 15 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:30.459 heir through God. Imn. Please be seated. As I mentioned, the 16 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:38.609 Apostle, Paul lists four things, four things here in verse four. The 17 00:01:38.689 --> 00:01:42.250 first thing, the first clause, which I'll preach on today, is that 18 00:01:42.370 --> 00:01:48.200 it was in the fullness of time that he had come, and the second 19 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:52.239 will focus on the sending of the son from the father. God sent forth 20 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:56.959 his son, the third born of a woman and fourth born under the law. 21 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:07.189 So first but when the fullness of time had come. This and these 22 00:02:07.269 --> 00:02:13.349 other phrases here mark the beginning of the story about Jesus, why he came, 23 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:16.780 how he came. You might kind of think of this verse as summarizing 24 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:23.659 the Origin Story of Jesus. In his incarnation, Jesus, of course, 25 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:30.210 as the son of God, has existed from all eternity. He is one 26 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:36.930 with the father. He is true, God fully divine. But in his 27 00:02:37.050 --> 00:02:40.449 in Ourk is, in his incarnation, there was a particular moment of time 28 00:02:40.689 --> 00:02:49.159 in which he took on humanity, which he became like us, and this 29 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:53.280 we might think of as the back story. If you know about the cross, 30 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:57.719 if you know about how Jesus gave his life, how he suffered and 31 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:01.949 died, taking on the penalty for all of our sins so that we might 32 00:03:01.990 --> 00:03:06.990 be freed from our sins, so that we might be justified in his name. 33 00:03:07.870 --> 00:03:12.830 This verse speaks about is the backstory to that. It's the origin of 34 00:03:13.060 --> 00:03:17.099 our hero, the origin of our victor. This is the beginning, this 35 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:21.500 is where he came from, why he came, how he came in. 36 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:25.539 In these four phrases, the Apostle Paul reminds us about who Jesus is and 37 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:30.449 what his mission is in the world, and in doing this he has a 38 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:36.090 very particular purpose. One is that he wants to give us assurance, much 39 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:40.560 needed assurance, that we are indeed the sons of God. Jesus came into 40 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:45.599 the world to do these things, to accomplish these things and these facts, 41 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:50.439 these things that he mentions here in verse four about his incarnation, helps solidify 42 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:55.710 our faith in him. When our faith is shaken, when trouble presses in 43 00:03:55.870 --> 00:04:00.509 around us, when it is time for us to remember that we have come 44 00:04:00.590 --> 00:04:03.830 into the family of God and that it is he who cares for us, 45 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:12.860 a verse like verse four is very helpful. These four phrases help and undergird 46 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:16.819 the truth of the incarnation, remind us of who Jesus is and what he 47 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:20.819 came to do. And so let's give our attention to the first of these 48 00:04:21.620 --> 00:04:26.810 in the fullness of time, when the fullness of time had come, God 49 00:04:26.930 --> 00:04:31.529 sent forth his son. When did God send forth his son? In the 50 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:38.170 fullness of time? They're all kinds of implications to this. In particular, 51 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:42.720 I think there are two lessons for us to focus on today. One is 52 00:04:42.759 --> 00:04:46.279 that the coming of Christ wasn't random, it was by God's sovereign power, 53 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:53.149 orchestrated by him, directed by him, planned by him, and the second 54 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:59.990 is that Christ coming wasn't meaningless, but it gives meaning to everything. But 55 00:05:00.230 --> 00:05:02.509 let's begin by focusing on this phrase. When the fullness of time had come. 56 00:05:03.709 --> 00:05:10.660 When Paul Compares time to fullness, he has in mind things that mature 57 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:16.100 or ripen or fill up to the point of readiness. A piece of fruit 58 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:20.420 might be one example. Right, a piece of fruit. It starts really 59 00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:25.009 small, just as a bud maybe, and then it grows and it grows 60 00:05:25.329 --> 00:05:29.569 and there's a certain point at which it looks like it's ready, but it's 61 00:05:29.610 --> 00:05:32.209 not right. You'll take it off if you're not sure, and you try 62 00:05:32.250 --> 00:05:36.199 it and it's a little sour and it's kind of still really hard. You 63 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:40.959 go all Nope, not going to pick anymore. It's not ready and you 64 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.399 don't know exactly when it's going to be ready right. Is some mysterious mystery 65 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.480 to that process. There always is. Even if you watch the same tree 66 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:54.029 year after year after year, you can predict within a window, but you're 67 00:05:54.029 --> 00:05:59.350 never exactly sure what's going to happen. But when it happens, when, 68 00:05:59.790 --> 00:06:03.269 when that piece of fruit is full of juice and it's ripe and it's ready, 69 00:06:03.819 --> 00:06:11.100 you know and it's it is come in to its fullness. Pregnancy is 70 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:15.779 another image, and probably the one that Paul has in mind here, since 71 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:19.689 he's focused on the birth of Christ, our place in the family of God 72 00:06:19.889 --> 00:06:25.329 as his son's, and this is true of pregnancy as well. Right there 73 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:30.970 there is a time where they the child is conceived, is in his or 74 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:35.560 her mother's womb and begins to grow, and we can estimate, we can 75 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:39.959 say, okay, we think it's going to be born, the baby's going 76 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:43.040 to be born within this certain range, but we're never really sure, are 77 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:46.149 we? Those of you who are pregnant among us know this and think about 78 00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:49.910 this often. When is the baby going to come? When is the baby 79 00:06:49.949 --> 00:06:54.910 coming to come? You don't fully know, but you know that when your 80 00:06:55.069 --> 00:06:59.509 body is ready, when it's time, when the Lord has brought forth that 81 00:06:59.709 --> 00:07:06.540 moment when fullness is reached, right the baby comes forth. Now know what 82 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:12.180 he's saying. What Paul is saying here. He's not saying that Mary had 83 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.449 a very specific do date, although she did, but that's not his point. 84 00:07:15.569 --> 00:07:21.490 Here he's saying is that time itself had a due date, right when 85 00:07:21.569 --> 00:07:27.730 the fullness of time, he says, had come. History, in other 86 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:30.959 words, was leading in a certain direction, it was filling up, it 87 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:35.600 was moving. Time itself had a destination, a filling up of things. 88 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:43.560 It was not ready before this moment, and then it was ready. It 89 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:49.269 unfolded and prepared and filled up to this particular point in history, and that 90 00:07:49.589 --> 00:07:56.910 sending and the sending of the son of God was that point. It's amazing, 91 00:07:57.029 --> 00:08:01.860 isn't it? Not Everybody thinks of time this way. There are those 92 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:07.180 who have fuse, refuse to acknowledge the work of God, who will say 93 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:11.540 that time does not lead to the sending of the sun, but and the 94 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:15.329 coming of his kingdom and the redemption of his people. But they will say 95 00:08:15.449 --> 00:08:20.610 that instead, time leads to them, that they are the fullness of revelation, 96 00:08:20.810 --> 00:08:24.410 they are the or the fullness of time. This typically doesn't happen, 97 00:08:24.490 --> 00:08:30.120 of your everyday Joe. But when an every day Joe becomes the leader of 98 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:35.240 a great nation, the emperor of many nations, you begin to hear of 99 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:41.149 these things, these eternal origin stories and and the point that all direction and 100 00:08:41.269 --> 00:08:46.269 everything was leading to this moment in history and this person who is now ruling 101 00:08:46.669 --> 00:08:52.789 and reigning over us. He tends to take these people tend to take on 102 00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:58.740 godlike characters and they do it by taking all of history under themselves, els 103 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:05.059 as though everything was leading to them to this particular moment and, of course, 104 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:09.730 for all of our benefit and submission. There are other people who will 105 00:09:09.730 --> 00:09:16.409 say that time is cyclical, right, it's just repeating the same thing over 106 00:09:16.730 --> 00:09:22.450 and over and over and over, or that time is random, there is 107 00:09:22.889 --> 00:09:26.879 no repetition, there's no meaning. To say that it's cyclical and repeating as 108 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:31.840 to at least say it's doing something. But there's others say there is no 109 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:37.399 predicting, there is no meaning, that it's all meaning less and random. 110 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:41.190 Now to each of these three things there is some truth. Of course, 111 00:09:43.110 --> 00:09:48.549 there are cause and effect relationships in this world, cause and effects that make 112 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:52.860 history and doing history possible. If we couldn't trace one thing leading to another, 113 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:56.860 there'd be no such thing as historians, there would be no such there 114 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:01.019 be no way to tell about the past. But there are, of course, 115 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:07.889 there are is cause and effect, but this does not make men into 116 00:10:07.970 --> 00:10:13.970 gods. It's simply reveals that there is a God who is sovereign over time, 117 00:10:15.009 --> 00:10:18.330 who is sovereign over these things, who is established a world of cause 118 00:10:18.889 --> 00:10:26.360 and effect. Job Thirty nine, one through three says this. Do you 119 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:31.200 know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the 120 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.830 dose? Can you number the months that they fulfill and do you know the 121 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:39.909 time when they give birth, when they crouch, bring forth their offspring and 122 00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:45.190 are delivered of their young? The answer, of course, is no, 123 00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:50.340 I don't know. And the the the the point is that God does know 124 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:58.340 these things. There are there are these relationships and things that happen in this 125 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:05.330 world, but God is sovereign over them. God is also established patterns in 126 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:09.970 this world and, since this world has been broken by sin, those patterns 127 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:16.490 often make things feel very frustrating. If you would turn with me to ecclesiastes 128 00:11:16.129 --> 00:11:24.879 in the Old Testament, one of the wisdom books that sometimes called ECLESIASTES, 129 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:39.470 chapter one. I'll read it in verse two. Vanity of Vanity, says 130 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:43.990 the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. What does man gain 131 00:11:45.149 --> 00:11:48.620 by all the toil at which he toils under the Sun? A generation goes 132 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:54.220 and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The Sun rises in 133 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:58.139 the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rises. The blend, 134 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:01.100 the wind blow, goes to the south. That goes around to the 135 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:03.889 north. Around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind 136 00:12:05.009 --> 00:12:09.169 returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full 137 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:13.610 to the place where the streams flow. There they flow again. All things 138 00:12:13.690 --> 00:12:18.320 are full of war weariness. A man cannot utter it, the eye is 139 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:24.440 not satisfied with seeing or the ear filled with hearing. What has been is 140 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.519 what will be, and what has been done is what will be done. 141 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:33.629 There is nothing new under the Sun. Round and around and around it goes. 142 00:12:33.110 --> 00:12:43.980 Vanity of vanities, nothing new. Sometimes we think about our grandparents, 143 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:48.220 are great grandparents, are great great grandparents back in history, and we wonder 144 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:52.899 what were they like, what did they do, what were their personalities? 145 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.610 Chances are you just need to look at yourself, look at your own family, 146 00:12:58.090 --> 00:13:01.250 look at the way you handle your life, and it's probably pretty similar. 147 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:07.129 These things can be inspiring in some ways and they can be really dreadful 148 00:13:07.169 --> 00:13:09.970 in other ways. We can get tired, we can get weary of the 149 00:13:11.090 --> 00:13:15.360 things in this world. There are patterns in the scripture attests to it, 150 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:20.159 into the weariness of it. Scripture also tests to the certain randomness of things, 151 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:26.799 the unpredictability of things. Again in ECCLESIASTES, Chapter Nine versus eleven and 152 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:33.070 twelve. ECCLESIASTES nine, eleven and twelve. Again I saw that under the 153 00:13:33.230 --> 00:13:37.429 sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 154 00:13:37.590 --> 00:13:41.899 strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor 155 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:48.100 favor to those with knowledge. But time and chance happen to them all. 156 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:52.460 For a man or for man does not know his time. Like fish that 157 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:56.409 are taken in an evil net and like birds that are caught in a snare, 158 00:13:58.009 --> 00:14:01.889 so the children of man are snared at an evil time when suddenly, 159 00:14:01.250 --> 00:14:09.610 when it suddenly falls upon them. So the author to Ecclesiastes, he recognizes 160 00:14:09.690 --> 00:14:11.679 that there are these patterns in the world, there are systems, there are 161 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:18.720 ways in which things are organized and predictable, so predictable it's wearying even and 162 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.559 it feels like vanity. But on the other hand there's also such randomness and 163 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:28.710 in predictability that you can say you go hard, are you go to your 164 00:14:28.789 --> 00:14:31.629 job, you work hard, you do well and you're not going to get 165 00:14:31.629 --> 00:14:37.110 a promotion. You run the race and you're really fast, you're not going 166 00:14:37.149 --> 00:14:43.419 to win the race. You're super smart, it doesn't matter, because randomness 167 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:46.539 befalls us all. Chance befalls is all. Suddenly you get caught in a 168 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:56.409 net and it's all over tard. So these descriptions are true descriptions of our 169 00:14:56.490 --> 00:15:03.690 life here. In the scriptures themselves, God describes the world under the Sun. 170 00:15:03.610 --> 00:15:09.759 He describes our perspective of things. He is not describing God's handling of 171 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.519 them. To God they're not random. To God it's not all weariness, 172 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:18.799 going where, it's a going nothing, going nowhere. That's how these things 173 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:24.029 feel to us and how they see, how they seem to us. To 174 00:15:24.190 --> 00:15:28.389 us we feel the patterns, we feel the systems, we notice the rhythms, 175 00:15:28.870 --> 00:15:31.990 so much so that they feel repetitive. We also feel the frustrations, 176 00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:37.700 the mutations, the changes, the variations, the twists and the turns that 177 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:46.299 trouble us. This reminds us that our perceptions do not reveal the full story. 178 00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:52.409 Our perception of things didn't does not tell the full story. There is 179 00:15:52.809 --> 00:15:56.450 a time for everything, ECCLESIAST, he says this is well, a time 180 00:15:56.570 --> 00:15:58.970 to reap, a time to sow, a time to be born, a 181 00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:03.450 time to die, a time to make war, time to make peace. 182 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.879 There is a kind of order that exists, and order that is upheld by 183 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:14.519 God, and order that he chooses to not fully reveal to us, but 184 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:21.789 does call us to figure it out and learn. ECCLESIASTS eight five, the 185 00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:25.789 second half of that verse, as the Wise Heart will know the proper time 186 00:16:26.470 --> 00:16:30.389 and the just way. You say that's hard. Well, yes, it 187 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:36.539 is hard. It's very hard, but that's why the scriptures call us to 188 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:40.179 seek wisdom, just pursue it, to treasure it, to find it. 189 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.860 Well, I'm not supposed to preach a sermon on wisdom right now. I'm 190 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:48.289 supposed to preach a sermon on the fullness of time. So, as we 191 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:52.889 move back to that, we've become to this point. Time, we see, 192 00:16:52.970 --> 00:16:57.409 therefore, is not leading us to an idol or in circles or to 193 00:16:57.570 --> 00:17:03.160 know where we feel these ways at times, and there's some truth to them 194 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.920 as we perceive them under the Sun. But the one who rules over the 195 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:11.279 sun, the one who establishes all of these things, the one who gives 196 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:18.910 us a feeling of chance and randomness on purpose to keep us humble, that 197 00:17:18.309 --> 00:17:26.109 one is leading all things in a particular direction. Our God is moving things 198 00:17:26.190 --> 00:17:29.109 to their goal, to their end. And what is that end? What 199 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:33.339 is that goal? What is the purpose of all of these things? What 200 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:37.740 is the reason for life under the Sun? All tell you, Paul says, 201 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:47.089 in the fullness of time, God bought brought forth his son. That's 202 00:17:47.210 --> 00:17:52.289 the point, that's where things are leading. That's the end. God does 203 00:17:52.690 --> 00:17:56.690 tell us the reason, he does give us the answer. He tells us 204 00:17:56.730 --> 00:18:00.960 that time and all the events of history are leading up filling. It is 205 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:08.640 pregnant with this truth and this reality of the sending forth of the Sun. 206 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:18.990 Now here's a question for you. Is this a surprise? Was the coming 207 00:18:18.109 --> 00:18:25.829 of Christ a big shocker that no one knew about, no one was prepared 208 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:30.700 for? Well, the answer is yes and no. Like pregnancy, everybody 209 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:34.220 knew that. Well, everybody that was listening to the word of the Lord. 210 00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:38.940 Knew that there was a filling up of time, there was a preparation, 211 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:44.329 there was things were getting ready, because God had spoken over and over 212 00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:49.809 that this would happen. But when exactly was that due date? When exactly 213 00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:55.089 would this son be born? When exactly would all the promises be filled? 214 00:18:55.799 --> 00:19:00.039 No one knows. Plus or minus two weeks, no no one knows, 215 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:04.119 or no one knew. The Prophet spoke often about the coming of the Lord 216 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:08.920 Jeremiah, for example, three hundred and seventeen. At that time, Jerusalem, 217 00:19:10.069 --> 00:19:12.509 he's prophesied, shall be called the throne of God, and all the 218 00:19:12.549 --> 00:19:17.309 nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, 219 00:19:17.630 --> 00:19:22.150 and they shall no more stubbornly follow after their own heart. Or Isaiah nine, 220 00:19:22.349 --> 00:19:26.579 six four. To us, a child is born, a son is 221 00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:30.019 given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall 222 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:40.609 be called wonderful counselor mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of peace, a 223 00:19:40.849 --> 00:19:45.849 son promised to Adam and Eve, to Abraham and Sarah, a son promised 224 00:19:45.890 --> 00:19:48.650 to all of Israel, to King David, a son that was coming, 225 00:19:49.089 --> 00:19:52.480 another one that would come and, as we sang earlier, would prepare the 226 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:56.759 way of the Lord, a Prophet who would come and speak and prepare the 227 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:02.920 way, even as John did. Birth pangs of time. Things are getting 228 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:06.799 ready, things are moving, and then when Christ comes, he comes and 229 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:11.829 there's angels in the sky and there's celestial signs and there's prophecies being fulfilled and 230 00:20:11.869 --> 00:20:22.740 all kinds of wonderful, wonderful things happening. Trouble too. We remember that 231 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:27.099 Herod tried to murder a lot of little boys. Remember that there were lies 232 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:32.660 and deception. We remember all the the the the stories about demons and all 233 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:38.049 the rest. Here when the sun was born, there was trial, there 234 00:20:38.170 --> 00:20:45.450 was trouble, there was joy, there was good news and Gospel. The 235 00:20:45.650 --> 00:20:49.960 biggest thing that ever was and ever will be was coming into the world. 236 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.839 First. Peter one hundred and twelve says this of the prophets who spoke before 237 00:20:56.359 --> 00:21:02.359 and Old Testament. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, 238 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:06.630 but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those 239 00:21:06.670 --> 00:21:10.349 who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, 240 00:21:10.670 --> 00:21:17.349 things into which angels long to look, the angels themselves wondering, waiting, 241 00:21:18.230 --> 00:21:22.660 of waiting, for the coming of the Messiah, like a pregnancy. We 242 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:26.700 knew it was coming, but didn't know exactly when, and everyone was excited 243 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:32.220 and everyone wanted to know. And then when it came, when he came, 244 00:21:32.930 --> 00:21:37.849 it was very, very obvious to those who had eyes to see. 245 00:21:37.930 --> 00:21:42.529 Anyway. There were many, of course, who heard the news, like 246 00:21:42.769 --> 00:21:49.680 Herod for example, and chose to murder people instead of coming to give praise 247 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:57.119 to the newborn king. And as Jesus continue to grow, and and and 248 00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:03.109 and Matt and Britain manife make manifest the Kingdom of God through the healing of 249 00:22:03.269 --> 00:22:08.670 people, through the forgiveness of sins, through the through the casting out of 250 00:22:08.869 --> 00:22:14.549 demons, through raising people during the dead, all of these things just manifesting, 251 00:22:14.670 --> 00:22:18.980 manifesting in him the Kingdom of God, all of these glorious things. 252 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:25.140 There were many, many people who held fast to this world, so they're 253 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:29.579 idols, so their promise hope, to their to their plans and their their 254 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:33.730 purp their own purposes. They refuse to recognize what was right in front of 255 00:22:33.809 --> 00:22:38.730 their face, that God was working all things in history toward this end. 256 00:22:42.970 --> 00:22:48.319 But there were others who saw it and who would cry from the side of 257 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:53.039 the road to Jesus to save them, and he did. There are others 258 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:59.670 who left everything, their family, their friends, their livelihoods, to follow 259 00:22:59.670 --> 00:23:04.069 him. There are others who gave up even their very own lives for the 260 00:23:04.190 --> 00:23:11.710 sake of his name, and not a single one of those died or lost 261 00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:18.700 without a reward. The reward of belonging to Christ, the reward of belonging 262 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:22.700 to the one who comes in the fullness of time, is eternal life itself. 263 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:30.529 Is entering into the fullness of blessings and joy, of pleasure and happiness, 264 00:23:30.009 --> 00:23:37.529 of community and Love in God himself and with brothers and sisters. We 265 00:23:37.769 --> 00:23:41.720 become, as Paul says, in our adoption, part of the family of 266 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:49.680 God, inheritors to all the blessings that Christ earned on our behalf. Now, 267 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.400 God, of course, knew that all this, all along, history 268 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:59.150 was working toward this end, and now you know it too. You know 269 00:23:59.470 --> 00:24:03.509 why Jesus came into this world, how he came into this world and how 270 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:08.950 that relates to everything that happens in this world. Well, this teaches us, 271 00:24:08.990 --> 00:24:15.099 I think, how to think about history and the future, how to 272 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:21.619 think about everything that happens in all of time. It also teaches us, 273 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:25.369 as I said before, that the coming of Christ was not random, it 274 00:24:25.529 --> 00:24:30.369 was not an accident, it was by God's own sovereign power. First, 275 00:24:30.410 --> 00:24:34.769 Peter one twenty says he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, before 276 00:24:34.890 --> 00:24:41.680 things were even made, but was made manifest in the last times for your 277 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:48.319 sake. It's that amazing that God loves you so much that he would make 278 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:52.589 manifest the most important thing that ever was in the history and ever will be 279 00:24:53.269 --> 00:25:00.269 in these last times for you. It's not random, it's all purposed by 280 00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:06.150 him who knows all things and controls all things by his sovereign power. And 281 00:25:07.220 --> 00:25:11.220 finally, we know from these things that the coming of Christ wasn't meaningless, 282 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:18.779 but it gives meaning to everything, like an umbrella over all of time before 283 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:23.329 he came and after it. God calls us to understand everything in relation to 284 00:25:23.410 --> 00:25:27.130 Christ and this moment, and he teaches us of his grade and love, 285 00:25:27.329 --> 00:25:33.369 the plan of salvation that we might be saved from our sin, our misery 286 00:25:33.410 --> 00:25:38.559 and all the troubles of this world, and that includes with this that includes 287 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:45.279 our particular troubles and griefs and trials in our time, in your life, 288 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:53.069 down to the tiniest detail of your life, arriving late at an airport, 289 00:25:55.109 --> 00:26:00.349 getting a hangnail on your finger for the second time this week, to the 290 00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:07.099 death of a family member, to a trouble at work. Psalm forty nine 291 00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:11.940 five says. Why should I fear in times of trouble? We in? 292 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:15.660 Then the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me. Why should I fear 293 00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:19.049 in times of trouble? The answer is because I put my faith in the 294 00:26:19.130 --> 00:26:23.490 Lord whose sovereign over the time itself. I put my faith in the Lord 295 00:26:23.529 --> 00:26:27.210 who, in the fullness of time, sent forth his son to save me 296 00:26:27.690 --> 00:26:33.599 from all who would seek to do me harm. Psalm Thirteen says. But 297 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.640 as for me, my prayers to you, oh Lord, add an acceptable 298 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:42.119 time. Oh God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me 299 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:48.430 in your saving faithfulness. Do you hear that prayer? A Beautiful, wonderful, 300 00:26:48.869 --> 00:26:56.309 deeply true prayer coming out of the revelation of God himself. The prayer 301 00:26:56.630 --> 00:27:02.619 in the of the Psalmist here calls on God, in the abundance of his 302 00:27:02.740 --> 00:27:07.259 steadfast love, to answer him, or to answer the prayer according to his 303 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:12.299 steadfast faithfulness, not according to our idols, not according to our confusion, 304 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:17.809 not according to our perception of things, but answer me in your love, 305 00:27:18.049 --> 00:27:25.849 according to Your steadfast faithfulness, and do it at an acceptable time. It's 306 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:32.359 a prayer that trusts the Lord of time to save us in time, at 307 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:37.799 the right time. And who else can do that but God? Who else 308 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:41.880 can we pray to and say, at the perfect time, at the time 309 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:44.869 that is acceptable to you, wise, to you, write, to you, 310 00:27:45.349 --> 00:27:51.029 good, to you, at the perfect time, save me. No 311 00:27:51.230 --> 00:27:55.630 one can do that except for God, and that's what he does for us, 312 00:27:55.750 --> 00:27:57.779 and that's why we can pray to him in that way. How do 313 00:27:57.900 --> 00:28:02.059 we know? Because, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his 314 00:28:02.180 --> 00:28:04.779 son to be born of a woman, to be born under the law, 315 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:14.690 to redeem us from our sins and to receive us as his children. So 316 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:18.730 let's turn in prayer now and ask that God would help us to trust him 317 00:28:18.769 --> 00:28:23.650 as these as he has revealed himself to us, and to follow him as 318 00:28:23.690 --> 00:28:26.839 he calls us to our heavenly father. We