The Fullness of Time

Gal 4:4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

Gen 49:10 “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

Mal 3:1 “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Mark 1:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

There are several dimensions, but the ones most people are familiar with are length, width, height and time. God doesn’t dwell in time. He is beyond the perception of our physical senses. He is an on-time God. He is unlimited by the physical laws and dimensions that govern our world.

Is 57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

God is eternal. So in contrast to us, God sees 1000 years as a day. It’s not that it’s exact. It simply means that God is eternal. The marking of time is totally irrelevant to God. He transcends it.

2 Peter 3:8-9 “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God lives in a different realm than us. He sees everything all at the same time in eternity. It doesn’t make sense. He is above and outside of this physical realm. A second is no different to God than eons. We can’t comprehend it, but we can believe it and understand that this is how our God is.

We can’t say He’s late. Mary and Martha had a problem. Their brother was sick and then he died. So, they felt like He was late. Your time frame is not God’s time frame. He can step in and out of a story at any time along the timeline.

God has your life in order. You don’t, but if you surrender your life to Him and trust Him to order your life. His time, His way. God has a word for you, but you need to be patient and trust His timing. His will, His way.

God proclaimed the birth of Jesus at the appointed time.

1. Time is duration. Our clocks mark change that indicate the passage of time. This is the duration of change. Time is a necessary precondition in order for there to be change. The passage of time causes change. Whenever there is change of any kind, we know that time has passed. You can’t go back. Change is inevitable. With every click of the clock, time is passing and change is happening. Let God use time to change you.

Jesus is the I Am. He was and is and is to come, but He is the self-existent one.

2. The science of physics says that time results from the existence of matter. You have to have stuff. Everything in the physical world has to be there in order to have time. Time exists where matter exists.

The universe is God’s clock. Stars don’t influence your life (astrology). The universe isn’t God. God is God. There was an appointed time for you to get saved. You can walk out on God’s timing. God cannot fail in time. Satan wants to say a planet is god or a person is god, but that’s a lie. We don’t need pictures or statues. What works is calling on a God who transcends time and entering in His presence.

God doesn’t live in time. He is right here, right now. Though He is outside of time, He chooses to enter right here in time.

When the fulness of the time had come… Your time might be now. There is a time and a season for everything. There is a time for war, a time to laugh, a time to embrace. There is a time for your healing, a time for the promises to be fulfilled in your life.

James 1:4 “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

We often want God to hurry, but He is never in a hurry; He is always on time. He will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for your role in eternity. 80 years passed to develop Moses. Leaders must go through a process of time.

There are no easy steps to maturity. When God wants to make an oak tree, He takes 100 years. He makes a mushroom overnight. Which do you want to be?

All the quick deliveries of food are bad for you. It’s convenient, but not good for you. We want it fast to the point that when we get it fast, we think we earned it. God is totally opposite of that. If you want life eternal, to be a teacher, minister, etc, you must be patient and be mature. You may not be where you want to be, but you’re not where you used to be either.

PBPGINFWMY=Please Be Patient God Is Not Finished With Me Yet. The snail made it to the ark by persistence!

When God doesn’t answer our prayers according to our timeline, we get frustrated. It’s going to happen on time! Right when you need it the most.

Corrie Ten Boom wrote about the perfect timing of God. They were attempting to help Jews, the turmoil got bad. She asked her dad how would she know God was with them. “When does Daddy give you a ticket for the train ride?” Right before you give it to the conductor. He purchased it months ago, but didn’t want to give it too early and have you lose it. He gave it to his child right on time. God is the same.

Abraham didn’t wait on God’s timing in giving them a child. He had a child through their slave, according to the culture of the day. God in His mercy still gave them a child, through Sarah, in His timing.

Noah got all the animals in, but the door wouldn’t shut. God shut the door. God has it all in His hands. When you’re waiting on something, it’s hard to be patient.

Moses waited 80 years, Daniel didn’t get delivered until the den of lions, Mary and Martha thought He let their brother die. Jesus wept, not because He loved Lazarus, but because of lack of faith. God’s timing isn’t wrong, it’s ours. The appointed time was a miracle in the making.

The appointed time of God is a miracle in the making. It is coming because everything has an appointed time.

Here they were, on their way to Bethlehem. It was long and grueling. Joseph probably walked the entire way. Mary was so pregnant. He must have been so careful of her. He loved her. They knew the baby would make it, but they weren’t sure they would. Mary was hours away from delivery and Joseph must have felt like such a failure. There was no place for them. They agreed to stay in a barn because they were desperate.

We sing songs like ‘O Holy Night’, but the reality is it was scary. Mary was in labor and Joseph didn’t have a midwife to help. She needed help and Joseph didn’t know what to do. Why now? I don’t understand God’s timing.

We question God’s timing. We start to question ourselves. We feel like failures and torment ourselves. It’s all because we don’t understand God’s timing.

We need the process.

Excerpted from a sermon preached by Pastor Anthony LoCascio.

For the full audio of this sermon (and other great sermons!) click here.

If you are in the Chicagoland area, come to The Life Church located at 3030 Central Road in Glenview, IL. Services are Sundays at 1pm and Wednesdays at 7pm.

www.thelifechurchofdesplaines.com