Knowing The Right Time

SN122291 Knowing the right time Luke 2:6

Beginning:

Does anyone here know what time it really is, really? GMT (Greenwich mean time) is the standard military time all over the world. Pilots refer to it as Zulu time.

I love daylight saving time. Gail and I enjoy long summer evenings in the garden or on the back deck. In the winter we go to work in the dark and return the same.

John Burroughs, born in 1837 and died in 1921 said, “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and wonder of the world.”

Time is an interesting concept. It comes to us like knots in a string. Sometimes my string is like a bird’s nest as it seems life comes in big confusing bunches.

A. W. Tozer said, “That God appears at time’s beginning is not too difficult to comprehend, but that he appears at the beginning and end of time simultaneously is not so easy to grasp. Time is known to us by a succession of events . . . . Changes take place not all at once but in succession, one after the other, and it is the relation of "after" to "before" that gives us our idea of time . . .. God is not compelled so to wait. For him everything that will happen has already happened. “

Measuring time is different depending upon which sex you represent. When a man says there is one minute and thirty seconds on the scoreboard a woman thinks the trash will be taken out in one minute and thirty seconds. A good quarterback can stretch one minute and thirty seconds into thirty. When a woman says she will be ready in five minutes she means five minutes in geological time. When I order something from a catalog I want it delivered in two dog weeks.

Some wonder if it is time to get married. Others wonder if it is time to change jobs/careers. Is it time to get involved in church? Is it time to grow spiritually?

There are two Greek words for time: Chronos (Chronological) and Karios (Seasonal). However you are defining time you need to know this is now our time. Illustration Dead Poets Society movie

Read Eccl 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:3:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,3:5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,3:6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,3:7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,3:8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Let me ask you again, What time is it?

Background:

Luke’s account of Jesus’ life contains many time references.

Luke says God knew the right time (Chronos and Karios) to send Jesus.

Historically, religiously, sociologically, culturally, politically and on and on it was the perfect time for God to send His son.

Burden

Many people fail to notice the time. They may think that tomorrow or next week will be the best time for this and that, but the only time we have to control is now. I hope this message is a wake up call to my hearers as it impacts our use of time.

Basic Truth

The most important thing anyone can know is what time it is

Big Question:

What time is it, right now in your life?

Is it time for you to commit your life to Jesus?

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.37 For nothing is impossible with God."38 "I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."