At the Right Time
“…when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba,[a] Father." 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" (Gal.4:3-7)
Sermons come from the most interesting sources. I was listening to a song from a Booth Brothers CD, by Moshe Lister, called “At the Right Time.” And in my mind, I went to Galatians 4:4 and 5. Listen to the words:
At the time of God’s own choosing, He came,
When we the fight were losing, He came.
Long before we knew Him
When we were lost in sin,
At the right time, at the best time, He came.
When the night was cold and dreary, He came
To His children worn and weary, He came.
To bring us out of darkness
To make us His again,
At the right time, at the best time, He came
To the great and to the lowly, He came,
To the wicked, to the holy, He came.
That we might know the Father
That Heaven we might gain,
At the right time, at the best time, He came.
At the right time, at the best time, He came.
And then, I thought about the time when 3 teenagers came to me during the Christmas season and asked, “Why did Jesus come when He did? Why then and not now?”
Well, the song and the question were the seeds planted in my mind for this message.
Consider what Paul tells us here in this passage. From all eternity God had it in His heart to give us Jesus Christ. Long before time began, He had known that we, His creatures would rebel against Him. And so He began to devise a plan—at just the right time He would send His one and only Son to rescue us from the dilemma of sin and its awful consequences.
It wouldn’t be just any day—not an accident or a coincidence—but a predetermined, specific time.
Remember, God is unrestricted by time, but He acts within time and always on time. It’s as if He had said, “Before I can go to planet earth and take on the form of man, and provide a way of escape for lost humanity, certain events must be just right and hearts must be receptive.”
Let’s look at the world as it existed at the birth of Christ. It will help us to better understand what Paul had in mind when he used the phrase, “The fullness of time.”
1. The Roman Empire was at the zenith of its power. Peace was established from Britain to the borders of India. That meant that citizens could travel freely, unrestricted by national or political barriers.
2. Roads reached throughout the Empire. The way was prepared for messengers of Christ to take the Gospel everywhere.
3. Greek had become the universal language of the Roman world. The Old Testament had been translated into Greek from Hebrew some 250 years earlier. Koine Greek was the language of commerce.
The structure of Greek was perfectly suited to communicate the Gospel in an accurate way due to its wide vocabulary and verb forms.
4. Greek philosophy prepared the minds of the masses. It was a common thing for people to meet together to discuss religious themes—the meaning and purpose of life, immortality, the nature of man, righteousness, and salvation.
5. A longing for something better
existed in many hearts. People
were disillusioned and desperate. Pagan religion was bankrupt. Philosophers only raised questions, but never gave answers. Crime was at an all-time high. Respect was lacking. Sin and corruption abounded. Disease, the breakup of the family, and sexual perversion were running wild.
It was truly a time of moral and spiritual darkness. Large numbers of Gentiles throughout the Empire began to turn to the Hebrew faith in search of truth and hope.
They heard about a Messiah who was to come. He would bring deliverance and establish a kingdom that would be everlasting and righteous.
6. The prophetic timetable was in place.
Palestine seethed with expectation of a great prophetic event. And into this environment of darkness came the “Light of the world.”
Illus.: “The Sack”
There is another sense in which this phrase “the fullness of time” becomes significant. It has to do with our “personal history.” Jesus comes to us at just the right time---never too soon, never too late.
- In conviction—that inner tug at our hearts—need forgiveness & hope
- In salvation—as we receive Him by faith
- In assurance—as the Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are God’s children
- In cleansing power—to rid us of our slavery to the sinful nature as we surrender the secret places of our heart to His control
- In the hour of temptation—when we feel our weakest
- In the times of trial—when it seems that the burdens of life are too great.
- When we’re discouraged and confused
At just the right time, He comes—and His coming takes different forms. Sometimes He comes through a child, or a friend, or a song, or a testimony, or a sermon, or even a stranger!
Illus.: “A Stranger in the Night”
Sometimes He comes to us in a phone call or email or note or an invitation to lunch.
Apart from our Lord’s coming to Bethlehem and His coming to us personally, there is yet another sense in which the “fullness of time” applies. Jesus promised that when the time was just right, when world conditions were ready, when heaven was prepared, He would visit us again.
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going." 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
He didn’t tell us the exact time but He did say that we could discern the times by taking note of certain signs. And if you look carefully at the events of our day, you can only conclude that we are ready for another visit from heaven!
Time doesn’t permit me to address the signs in detail, but one has only to read Matthew 24 and then compare it to current events. Really, in one sense the world is not terribly different from the first coming of Christ---only in intensity.
CONCLUSION
Yes, at just the right time Jesus came to Bethlehem.
At just the right time He comes to us personally with an offer of salvation, peace, and hope.
And, at just the right time He will return to take us to be with Him forever. That’s when we will begin to live by sight and not by faith.
Are you ready for His appearing?
Dr. A. J. Gordon tells of two sisters who were very near and dear to one another. One was a Christian, and the other was not The Christian girl was constantly seeking to lead the unbelieving one to the Lord Jesus Christ One night she persuaded her to attend church service with her. The minister preached from \reference{Matthew 24}{Matthew 24}, where It says that when Jesus comes in the air to call His sons from the earth one will be taken and the other left. He preached a stirring sermon. The Christian girl hoped very much that the sermon would lead her sister to salvation; but the unbelieving one did not seem to be impressed by what had been said. The two girls slept together. That night the Christian one was so burdened for her sister that she could not sleep. She crept from the bed and went into another room to pray. In the meantime the unsaved girl awoke, and missing her sister wondered where she was. As she lay there, the sermon being uppermost in her thought, she wondered if her Christian sister had been taken. The horror of having been left behind made such an impression on her that she cried to the Lord for salvation. Such a scene will be a reality -- one will be taken and one will be left!
Make sure you are ready! Because at just the right time He will come!
