Christmas-The Right Season

God always keeps his appointments is on a timetable he announces that he always keeps it and never to God's time is always the right time God always keeps his appointments and God's time is always the right time God always keeps his appointments just viewed Egyptian signature celebration of Jesus coming toward today on connect with Skip right, Skip begins a special holiday series called red Christmas sharing why Jesus came at just the right time. That truth will strengthen your faith before we begin to tell you about an opportunity you have to see the Bible come alive before your eyes invited to join Stephanie toward Israel in 2022 places for the offense of the Bible unfolded significant experience in currents in your faith if that's what comes to life for you and only perhaps before all the info and inspiration. Cruises.com/the ABQ okay we're in Galatians chapter 4 today as we get into the teaching with Skip Heitzigs when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out father therefore you are no longer slaves but a son and of the son, then an heir of God through Jesus Christ in the context followed simply saying the law of Moses that govern the Jews for thousands of years accomplished its purpose, God gave the law. Keeping Israel in a state of immaturity until the whole picture could come Israel failed to keep the law, all people fail to keep the lawn totality. So God introduced a new era of redemption, which is summed up in the phrase when the fullness of the time had come. Amplified Bible puts it when the proper time had fully come, picture a glass that is being slowly slowly slowly slowly filled up with water throughout time throughout year after year after year until it finally reaches the proper fullness the time reached its fullness. It was the proper time. The appropriate time. The right time, the fullness of the time. Why did God send Jesus when he did, why not earlier. Why not in Old Testament times one now in modern times about why. At that time 2000 years ago. Why in that culture. Greco-Roman culture wide to that part of the world, the Middle East, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Judeo Jerusalem, the Jews, why would God send the most important person ever to do the most important work ever at the time that he didn't answer, according to Paul, is because that was the fullness of the time the right time and I'm and explain that today there's two main foxes that come to me in verse four. Two main thoughts that we want to kind of wash over us today and that is God always keeps his appointments number one God always keeps his appointments is on a timetable he announces that he always keeps it and never do God's time is always the right time God always keeps his appointments and God's time is always the right time God always keeps his appointments. One of the things I noticed as I read through Scriptures that God speaks a lot about the right time is on a timetable is on a schedule which is interesting because God's everlasting father, he's the God of eternity.

He's outside the realm of the time space continuum but were not were trapped by, so he speaks to us condescends to our level so that we can get it but shows us that he makes appointments and he always keeps them now God is a God who is perfectly on time. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 says to everything there is a season of time for every purpose under heaven. In other words, he's never late is never early Islam on time. I had an earthly father who was quite the opposite. He meant well, but it was a busy dad and open the settings in the pick me up at this time I could add about 30 minutes to just automatically be the last kid in line hour at the school I be the last kid on the baseball field that was in the comer pick me up but not our heavenly father. Our heavenly father's perfectly on time. Peter put it this way, God is not slack or slow concerning his promises, as some men count slackness.

Charles Spurgeon wrote this. There are no loose threads in the providence of God, no stitches are dropped. No events are left to chance. The great clock of the universe keeps good time and the whole machinery of Providence moves with unerring punctuality met when Jesus Christ came on the scene in Mark chapter 1 he went down to where John the Baptist was at the Jordan River. He then went to be tempted for 40 days in the wilderness and he came back when he came back he was starting his ministry and according to Mark and that brought the first words out of Jesus mouth, get this.

Were these the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Using essentially what Paul is saying in Galatians chapter 4 this is the fullness of the time and we find references to that throughout the Gospels. When Jesus went to Cana and he performed that water into wine thing members mom suggested the you know here make the squadron. Why and remember what Jesus said he goes woman my hour has not yet come is always talking about his hour. John chapter 7. They try to take Jesus by force in making the king, but they didn't do that because the text says his hour had not yet come. John chapter 13 the Last Supper seen Jesus gets up from the table to wash his disciples feet. Businesses knowing that the time had come for him to depart and go to the father. Jesus did that and then he announced in his most famous parable, John chapter 17 in the garden of Gethsemane. I believe that's where it was uttered. He said father, the hour has come.

Glorify your son that your son may glorify you.

So God makes appointments and God always keeps his appointments. I just want you to think about that because in January will be starting a new series on Sunday morning of the book of Daniel, and you want to see a God who keeps his appointments down to the day the announces that years in advance when you check out Daniel chapter 9. God always keeps his appointments. The second great truth here is that God's time is always the right time when the father sent the son into the world. It was at the fullness of the time and typically we don't even think about that what we think about is usually BC year 80.

It's how we look at time that happened at 332 BC that happened 312 A.D. know what we mean by that is BC before Christ, A.D. anno Domini in the year of our Lord. That's what that means. Now that is been changed in recent years, have you noticed that my secularist is not BC anymore to BCE before the Christian era that I want to say crisis is before what Christians say is Christ before the Christian era.

Okay, whatever. You still have to admit Jesus divided time. You are still admitting every time you write a check.

No document is valid that this man came at the time that he did and split time forever, God's time is the right time question still remains, why did God send Jesus when he did.

What factors were going on in the world that made this time the fullness of time. While there are several I have time to really only give you 33 things going on.

You can jot them down.

The made that time the right time and it was the convergence of these three that sums up the verse when the fullness of the time had come.

Number one, it was the right time spiritually spiritually was the right time. Historians will tell us that there was at that time, a pervasive hunger in the general population of the Roman Empire for spiritual things more than before. And one of the reasons they point to is the influence of monotheistic Judaism throughout the Roman Empire. When Alexander the great took over Jerusalem in 332 BC. He told the Jews to colonize the world and getting that freedom encourage them to spread what they believe in their culture in different parts of the world so they did that and so Jews in different places in the Roman empire with their belief system greatly influenced unbelievers and they were attracted to Judaism for a couple of reasons. Jews were monotheistic. They believed in one God. Most peoples in the Roman world believed in polytheism. Many gods there were attracted to a group of people who believe there is one true creator Almighty God, and we have a special unique covenant relationship with him was very attracted to them was the second reason for the Romans had conquered most of the world and the superstition back then as if somebody conquers you there gods are responsible for it, which makes your gods inferior so because Rome had conquered the world. All of these different people groups in Bithynia, Cappadocia, Galatia, etc. whatever gods they pray to work feeling a bit embarrassed that we prayed our guards to protect us from the big bad Wolf of Rome, and they didn't they didn't protect us. So now they suddenly became open to believing in an alternative belief system is another reason that the world was right spiritually. The Jews believed in the coming Messiah, but deliver because of the prophecies of the Old Testament. There's coming a deliver a Savior came. What's interesting about that is Romans also believed that there would be a coming Savior King a deliver for the Romans and one of the Roman poets by the name of Virgil announced that Caesar Augustus was the ideal Savior King, the one who would fulfill all of the expectations of humanity and he said and I quote this one will be the divine king, bringing salvation which the world has waited said that about Augustine's so there were already open to the idea of a deliver coming. They didn't see that as time went on with the goddesses but now they were open to so that was a hunger more than ever before in the Roman world where it was right it was right spiritually, not only among the Romans, but among the Jews themselves.

I mentioned the Jews believed in the coming of the Messiah. Again, history will tell us that the expectation of the Messiah coming reached fever pitch right about the time Jesus showed up on the scene when the original quote by a very famous Rabbi Rabbi hello silver who said quote prior to the first century, the messianic interest was not excessive the first century, however, especially the generation before the destruction of the second Temple at the time of Christ, witnessed a remarkable outburst of messianic emotionalism when Jesus came into Galilee, spreading the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. He was voicing the opinion universally held that the age of the kingdom of God was at hand. The Messiah was expected around the second quarter of the first century of the Christian era," will that happen to be exactly when Jesus came in the fullness of the time. No wonder when John the Baptist was down to the Jordan River. The first question people ask is, are you the Christ.

Are you the one we been waiting for.

Because of that messianic expectation now it is time one of the reasons that the Jews believe that would be the time. Here's one of the reasons there is an ancient prophecy in the book of Genesis chapter 49 where Jacob is going to all of his kids.

All of his boys and telling them about their future.

All of the future of them and their progeny. The tribes that would come we get to Judah. One of the sons that will become the tribe of Judah the tribe from which Jesus came. By the way, and he said this, this scepter will not depart from Judah, until Shiloh comes the scepter the right to rule the right of an autonomous rule, the right to enforce the law of Moses will not depart from Judah, until Shiloh Shiloh means the one to whom it belongs and most Rabbi since that time. Time immemorial. I believe that that is a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, the scepter will not depart from Judah until the Messiah comes so Josephus, the Jewish historian tells us that in the first quarter of the first century when the Romans took over. They took the right of tribal rule from Judah the right to, and inflict capital punishment according to the law of Moses. According to the town might according to the mission, excuse me when that happened the Jewish Sanhedrin puts sackcloth and ashes on their body march to Jerusalem. And this what they were be wailing this scepter has departed from Judah, but Shiloh has not come.

They were be wailing the fact they believe God broke his promise and didn't send the Messiah. Once that scepter had departed. What's interesting is that while they were making that little procession in Jerusalem there was a young man up in Nazareth just about ready to lay down his carpentry tools and marched down toward the Jordan River. His name is Jesus. Shiloh had come, and he was about to come on the scene. It was the right time spiritually. Number two.

It was the right time. Culturally, for the first time since the Tower of Babel. There was now a universal language that was governing the world is the language of Greek to this point I wasn't that kind of universal trade language the way it all started this several years before, a few hundred years before young boy very, very confident young man very very gifted young man by the name of Alexander mom thought it was great thought that the world should be Hellenized, that is become great initiative, the Greek culture. They should have the Greek language so basically he took over the world by age 33. He was he was the ruler de facto in the world and he managed to go as far as India and make Greek the official language of the East vernacular Greek coin, a Greek, the language of these will he die wrong came on the scene and when wrong came on the scene they made Greek the official trade language of the last. So now you have the unification, the cohesion of East and West so historian said you could go from Britain to India in those days speaking the same language. It was understood culturally was perfect know why is that important because now you can express ideas to people in the same language and I can understand it there already on the same page together free flow thought and expression, and ideas. In the Greek language and by the way, Greek is the most precise instrument to convey human thought. The nouns have to agree with the adjectives and there are seven cases for Greek nouns, nominative, genitive ablative data evocative, instrumental and accusative all of that is in one now will tell you what, how it functions in the adjective has to agree all the verbs have tense past, present, future, or they also tell you is the actually continuous is the action over is the action intermittent you get that from this looking at one of her so the birds have tense. They have voice tell you it's an active voice, the indicative voice.

If it's an imperative voice tell you what mood it is the tells you if the action is real or potential etc. etc. it's so very precise. It's interesting to me that God waited culturally, for the most precise language to be the language that the New Testament would be written and conveyed in throughout the world. It was the right time spiritually with the right time. Culturally number three was the right time politically, who was in charge who was in charge politically of the world what was wrong was at its very peak. It's very height and that Cesar Augustine is managed at that time during the height of the Roman government to establish what is called the pox Romana Roman peace 200 year span of time where there was almost a complete absence of military conflict.

Not till that time. There been a lot of wars was even a temple in Rome to the God of war was over.

Now there was a piece which brought stability which brought cultural growth and during the time of Roman peace Romans built a road system and made you just travel a little bit over there and check it out.

The Roman road system was 250,000 miles of roads, 50,000 miles of which are paved by stone pavers.

You can go today and see remnants in almost perfect shape Roman roads. So now you have a time of relative peace and the ability to travel around the world safely and freely. Roman guards stationed a different key places in that road to protect travelers. According to one historian. He said for Paul to do the kind of extensive traveling that he did would have been impossible after the fall of the Roman Empire until modern times. Paul traveled. We believe, about 15,000 miles by land and by sea bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever he went. And by the way, some of the soldiers.

The Bible tells us as well as history came to believe in Christ, so wherever they would get stationed around the world.

They would bring those ideas with them. So basically you have the gospel in the most precise language ever under the most ideal circumstances ever to people who are hungrier than ever going to places more freely than ever before. It was the fullness of the time it was the perfect time.

It was the right time. Me_at all by discussing this by the year 312 A.D. every one in 10 people in the Roman world, the known world, everyone out of 10 claim to be Christians. That's an incredible spread from one Messiah, and 12 followers. One out of every 10 people in the known world, claiming to be a Christian when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his son at Scott's time in God's timing is perfect timing.

I just want to comfort you and say to God's timing in your life is perfect time. I know you don't always feel that way all the time to go guy, where are you, you should shut up like last week. Your perfect opportunity to do that, you blow it. Glad the Lord and consult me you want to do something we don't always understand God's timing. The people of that era didn't understand that that was the perfect time, but was we don't always understand this could be this season could be this day could be God's perfect timing in your life you might be stirring things up and you might be shaking things up and you he might to bring into a place of comfort that you've never known before. He might be bringing you today to a place of release and confidence and trust in him in a personal relationship. Were you going to receive Jesus Christ.

This could be the fullness of the time you all put it this way. Today is the day of salvation.

Now is the accepted time that concluded Skip Heitzig six minutes from the series of red Christmas. Use a resource that gives you more insight into God's character and nature motion in his word every day, 20, 22, almost here now for your theater menu starting in January.

This month their offerings to the devotional containing strong dots for each state the sample from January 1 Martin Luther one of life has friends after me. As you read instead stay and prepare for the greatest adventure of your life. That's an excerpt at the direction founded gets daily… That you receive in hardcover dollars or more today is Bible teaching history growing the playlist messages I can't find as our thank you. The victim here in the playlist theory to spend energy in life and we all do make sure it's about people that you're building up not just projects the to give and receive business resource crickets.com or call 819 to 1888 if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest from his ministry and from Skip invite you to follow Skip on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

You'll find important announcements and great encouragement from Skip. That's at Skip Heitzig at Skip HDI teasing IG coming up tomorrow. Skip Heitzig six years why Jesus was the right person to redeem to eternal life. Something one-sided Christmases when God came down the stairs of heaven with the baby in his arms for five that's not the whole story Christmases when God came down the stairs of heaven save so Skip presentation of connection communication changing truth ever-changing time