All His Time Series

Series: All His – Time

Question: What do you think is the most precious commodity wasted in most people’s lives every day?

The answer to that question: Is Time!

Thesis: Scriptures address time as a divine gift from God and a divine element with seasons. It’s also noted as a human element that requires wise stewardship, and a force that is used and governed by God's perfect plan.

Scripture Verses: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: Solomon

1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Key verses highlight God's perfect timing follow in the points below: (e.g., Ecclesiastes 3:1, Galatians 4:4), wise time management (e.g., Ephesians 5:15-16), and trust in God's eternal perspective (e.g., 2 Peter 3:8).

I. God's Perfect Timing and Divine Perspective

a. Ecclesiastes 3:1: "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven".

i. This verse establishes that God has a perfect, ordained time for all events.

ii. In the Gospels we hear Jesus say, “My time has not yet come!”

1. Timing is important in your spiritual life as well. Jesus was very conscious of timing. He lived His life with an acute awareness of God's timing for His life. The gospel of John records these words of Jesus,

a. John 2:4 "My time has not yet come"

b. John 7:6 "The right time for me has not yet come"

c. John 7:30; 8:20 "His time had not yet come"

i. Peter even tells us that the second coming of the Christ is a matter of timing. God’s timing!

2. "My time has not yet come" is a phrase Jesus uses in the Gospel of John to indicate that the appointed moment for his death and resurrection had not yet arrived, but the divine timing set by God for these events was imminent. He used this phrase to explain why he couldn't fulfill requests at certain times, such as the wedding at Cana or traveling to a feast, because it was not yet God's plan for him to suffer and be exalted.

3. Context in the Gospel of John

a. John 2:4: Jesus says, "My hour has not yet come" to his mother, Mary, when she requests his intervention at the wedding at Cana. Although he performs a miracle, he is indicating that the "hour" of his ultimate mission (his death and resurrection) was not yet fulfilled.

b. John 7:6-8: Jesus tells his brothers, who suggest he go to the feast in Jerusalem, that his time has not fully come, but their time is always ready. He later travels to Jerusalem in secret because his time was not yet fulfilled.

4. Divine Timing: Jesus' statement emphasizes that events in his life, particularly his passion and glorification, were governed by God's precise divine timing.

5. Do you believe in Divine Timing?

a. Have you experienced this in your life?

6. Embrace the process of God’s Timing: Every season, good or difficult, contributes to who you are and shapes your life story.

a. Find purpose: In each season, especially the challenging ones, seek to understand what you can learn and how you can grow, often by drawing closer to Jesus or finding inner resilience from the Holy Spirit.

b. Galatians 4:4: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son". This highlights God's strategic timing in sending Jesus for humanity's redemption and to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant which took years to come to fruition in Jesus.

i. We know Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise God made to fallen mankind in Genesis. But time had to guided by divine providence and timing.

1. God's promise from Genesis to bless all the nations is found in Genesis 12:1-3, where God tells Abram (later Abraham) that through him and his descendants, all families on earth will be blessed. This promise signifies that Abraham's lineage will be a channel for God's blessing to the entire world. This covenant is a central theme in the Bible, emphasizing that the blessings God gives are not solely for the recipient but are intended to reach all peoples.