A GIFT WORTH WAITING FOR
John Maxwell
INTRODUCTION:
In Luke, chapter 2, we have the story of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem and the birth of the Christ child. I would like to talk to you about God and His timing this morning, and how Christmas, more beautifully than any other story, teaches us about how God does all things very well in His time.
In Luke, chapter 2, beginning with verse 1, "Now, it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was the governor of Syria when all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because it was of the house and the family of David, in order to register along with Mary who was engaged to him and was with child." I want to call your special attention to verses 6 and 7, "And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth and she gave birth to her first born son. And she wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn."
Now, in your sermon section in Galatians, Chapter 4, Paul says, "But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law and order that he might redeem those that who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons." If Christmas is about anything, Christmas is about God’s sovereign timing in the lives of mankind.
The Ecclesiastes writer in chapter 3 says some very interesting things about God and his timing. Just listen carefully, "There’s an appointed time for everything and there’s a time for every event under heaven. A time to give birth and a time die. A time to plant and a time to uproot that which is planted. A time to kill, a time to heal. A time to tear down, a time to build up. A time to weep, a time to laugh. A time to mourn, a time to dance. A time to throw stones, a time to gather them. A time to embrace, a time to shun embracing. A time to search, a time to give up as lost. A time to keep, a time to throw away. A time to tear apart, a time to sow together. A time to be silent, a time to speak. A time to love, a time to eat." He just goes through and tells us about the seasons. And then in verse 11 he says, "He has made everything appropriate in it’s time. And He has set eternity in the heart of man." That’s an amazing statement. The Ecclesiastes writer says, God has made everything appropriate in it’s time, showing that God is aware about everything even the very moments of your life and my life. I mean he knows the seconds of our life. Everything appropriate in its time.
Such infinitesimal care and details and yet, in the same sense the same God who knows every moment of your time and my time has set eternity in our heart. It’s a picture of God knowing the very smallest minute details of our life and being in control of them in his sovereignty. And it’s a picture of God saying, in the same sense I have set eternity in the heart. It’s the big picture the small picture all together.
Now, how does that relate to Christmas? Look at Luke, chapter 2, verse 7 for a moment. The first part of verse 7, it says, "She gave birth to her first born son. This was a very human person, Mary, giving birth to a very human body, Jesus." This speaks of the humanity of Christ. A human mother, a human baby. Humanity. Look at Galatians, chapter 4, the very first part very middle part where it says, "And God sent forth his son." That’s divinity. A divine Father, God being born in the flesh. These two verses give us the theology of the incarnation of Christ which is God becoming flesh. Human, yet divine. Divine and human. The Son of God becoming the son of man that we who are the sons of man can become the Son of God. It’s an incredible theme and nobody gives a better description of that theme than Luke does in chapter 2 and Paul does in Galatians 4.
Look back at Luke, chapter 2 for a second in verse 6, the latter part of verse 6, this speaks of the timing of God and the pregnancy of Mary. "The days were completed for her to give birth." In other words, the 9 month period was taking place. The timing of God, again, in the very details of everyday life. Look at Galatians, chapter 4, the beginning part, "And when the fullness of time had come." This is the timing of God in the eternal plan. God being able see us in our moments and God being able to see us in the whole scope of eternity. It’s an amazing God that we serve.
Now, let’s look at Mary for a second, just a moment, let’s look at Mary. As I look at her I can see that God’s timing in her life was inconvenient. When we look at the daily interaction of God in our life, sometimes is it not true we see things happen to us and we back up and we say, "This is the not right time for this to happen in my life." How true this is.
Let me give you some examples of Mary. I just wrote down and certainly this isn’t an exhaustive list. But let me just give you four or 5. This was not the right time for her to have a child:
1. Her marriage was not yet consummated.
And it’s just not the right time for her to bring forth the birth of the first-born son. She’s not even completed the marriage with Joseph yet.
2. The birth of her child is going to be in occupied territory.
It’s not even going to be at home where there’s security. It’s going to be in a place that’s occupied by others. It’s not exactly the place up want to give birth to a child.
3. The census has totally disrupted all their plans.
Here she was going to have that baby in Nazareth with her family and friends and all of a sudden the census just pulls them up and they go to another place.
4. It’s a strange town and there’s no support system in Bethlehem.
In all likelihood Mary’s never been there before. Strange town, strange people, strange place. Away from Mom, away from the sisters away from the family all the support system that you want in the birth of a child, especially your first one.
5. There’s inadequate housing.
They go to the inn and there’s no place for the Lord baby Jesus to be born. In the short term if you would stop and say, "Mary, what do you think about the timing of God for the birth of the Christ child?" I’ll guarantee you that Mary would say, "It doesn’t seem to be the right time."
Now, folks, I relate to this. That applies right to my life. There have been all kind of things that God has done. Little quote, circumstances coincidences that have come into my life and I’ve looked at them and I’ve said, "This is not the time for this. This isn’t the right time." You see, all we get is one little picture just one little part of an incredibly eternal puzzle. And I’m telling you, when you just get one piece of the puzzle and you happen to be a part of that one piece, there’s an awful lot of things that can happen in your life and in my life that we’ll shake our head and say, "Now, that doesn’t make one bit of sense."
You know, if you go to the Padres baseball games between innings once in awhile they’ll do a puzzle on their big scoreboard, and they’ll have a baseball player a trivia question, you’re trying to guess what the player is. And they’ll start off with one piece of a puzzle and it’s usually the bill of a ball cap. And nobody can figure out who it is. And everybody’s trying to figure out who it is. And as every piece begins to come together, all of a sudden people start to talk and excitement will begin to mount, while all of a sudden they can begin to see a face and all of a sudden they’re beginning to hone in on who that baseball player is. I’m here to tell you that we usually get one piece of the puzzle and then God’s sovereignty and God’s timing, many of the things that happen to you and many of the things that happen to me, we just shake our heads, "I don’t understand this in my life."
Now, we’re going to come back to that at the end of the message. Let’s go to the big picture now. You see, in light of prophecy, the timing was perfect. In light of the prophecy of God, this birth of Jesus was just perfect as far as timing. Let me show you some things. Let me give you some Old Testament thoughts here for a moment concerning the birth of Christ.
1. The Old Testament said the Messiah would come and emerge victorious in Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15.
As soon as Adam and Eve fell in the garden and sinned against God, God said, "Do not worry. I’ve got a plan." And the prophecy, the very first prophecy of the Messiah, was in Genesis 3:15.
2. That the Messiah would come from the nation Israel.
That’s in Genesis 12. Remember when God spoke to Abraham and told Abraham concerning his descendants.
3. That the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah.
That’s in Genesis, Chapter 49. That’s the story where Jacob gathered his 12 sons together and he began to prophesy concerning them their future. He brought his fourth son in, Judah. And when bringing his fourth son in told Judah that the scepter would never be taken out of the hand of Judah, literally, that the Messiah would be born out of the tribe of Judah.
4. The Messiah would come from the house of David.
Ten centuries before Jesus’ birth, David wanted to build a temple. We know the story. And God said, No, you’re a warrior king, your son Solomon will build the temple. And David was disappointed and in David’s disappointment God said, but let me tell you something David, it will be from your house and your lineage that the Messiah will come.
5. The Messiah would be born of a virgin.
Isaiah said that.
6. That the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Micah said that. In fact, Micah said that the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem. He said, "But thou Bethlehem, out of these shall come forth into me that which is to become the ruler of Israel."
7. That the Messiah would be visited and honored by wise men.
Isaiah predicted that and prophesied about that and so did the psalmist. So in light of prophesy, the timing of God was at the right place at the right time.
But even I think more significantly as we look back from this side of it in light of history the timing of the birth of Christ was perfect. No wonder Paul said in Galatians 4 he said, "In the fullness of time God sent forth his son."
Let me give you 5 things that happened in history that made the timing of God just right for his birth.
1. The spreading out of the Jewish people in the Mediterranean basin.
The "Diaspora," the dispersion of the Jews. Right before the birth of Christ, the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. Now, that becomes very significant. These God fearers, these worshipers of Jehovah began to spread out throughout the Roman Empire and if was in those communities where the God fearing Jewish people were that once Jesus ascended back and evangelism began to unfold, it was in these God-fearing Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire that the seed was first sown that Jesus Christ was to be the Messiah.
These were to be the beds of evangelism throughout the whole Roman Empire. And, you see, the Jews were dispersed. If they would have all stayed in the same place, evangelism would have stayed right there. But it was through the sovereignty of God, he said, Before I allow my son to be born into this world, I’m going to spread these Jewish people out through all these little small communities in the Roman Empire.
2. There was a favorable legal environment when Jesus was born.
When I talk about the favorable legal environment, you have to understand that under the Roman Empire there were all kind of different peoples that they had conquered. It was a massive empire and so they conquered different nationalities and different peoples, and different relation religions. And they were quite tolerant towards these different religions with one exception, and the one exception, of course, as you know; all religious sects and groups were to proclaim Caesar as God.
That was the one area of where the Roman Empire was intolerant and they said, basically, if you’re going to be under rule, then Caesar was God. And that worked with every religious sect except the Jewish people, and the Jewish people never would do it. It got so bad, after decades of killing and intimidation, it finally got to the place where the Roman Empire said, "Okay, we will grant an exemption with the Jewish people." Now, watch how the timing of God is just perfect. You see, now all of a sudden the Jewish people do not have to proclaim Caesar as God and here comes the birth of the baby Jesus and for the first 70 years after the death of Jesus, the Roman Empire never did distinguish the difference between the Jewish people and Christianity.
They thought that the Jews who were Christians they all put it all in the same pot; and so, therefore for the first 70 years until the destruction of Jerusalem, for the first 70 years, literally, Christianity was being birthed and routed in all these communities and they were allowing the exemptions, again, for the Christians not to be able to have to say, Caesar is Lord, and all of a sudden in 70 A. D. they realized that Christianity and Judaism wasn’t the very same thing and by this time, though, it had taken root in the Roman Empire to the place where they could never pull it out again, all in the sovereignty of God’s timing.
3. It was a favorable political climate.
You see, Julius Caesar, who was probably the best known as Roman emperors, when he was assassinated, you have to understand, there was more civil war under Julius Caesar than any other Roman emperor. But at the close of his reign, especially as Augustus Caesar came to the throne, which was about 25 years before Christ, all of a sudden peace broke out in the Roman Empire and for the next 2 centuries there was peace and because of that peace all kind of things began to happen. Instead of Roman Empire doing battle all the time, they began to build roads and roads were built and travel was safe. And, in fact, it was under Augustus Caesar, at the time of Christ, that they even began to take care of the safety of the people that traveled and they had, literally, the highway patrol began right there.
And all of a sudden it was safe to go back and forth and travel and spread the good news and fulfill the great commission.
4. There was a favorable cultural climate.
When I speak of a favorable cultural climate, all language was the same for the very first time since the Tower of Babel. Remember that tower where we all spoke the same language, but their motives were wrong and God gave them different languages. Up from that time up to the time where Jesus was born, all different nations spoke different languages. But by the time Jesus was born, because of Alexander the Great, who was truly a world conqueror, because of Alexander the great, everybody spoke a common Greek language.
So the time that the Bible was written you always here the pastor talk about in the Greek in New Testament all the New Testament is written in common Greek and the reason for that was that was the common language everybody spoke it; and so, therefore, every book that was written by Paul, every book that was written in the New Testament could be written in Greek and everybody could pick it up and understand exactly what was said because of one common language.
You see, that wouldn’t even be true today. For today, if it was to be written, we’d have to write Galatians and Ephesians in Turkish, and Corinthians would be in Greek and so would Thessalonians, but Romans would be in Italian. Hebrews, of course, would be in Hebrew. You have all kind of different languages because of the different groups.
5. A favorable philosophical environment.
Even philosophically they were ready for the coming of Christ. Plateau, Aristotle, all the Greek philosophers had done a better job at raising questions than giving answers and Christianity became like a cleansing breeze in society. It’s been said that the Greek philosophers were like plowing fields. They plowed the fields but they didn’t sow the seed, and Christianity came into those cultivated, fertile, plowed minds and began to sow the seed of Christianity.
Now, Christmas is about God’s timing in our lives. Christmas is about the coincidences, the census, going to Bethlehem, all the little coincidences and circumstances that happen in our life. One of the great things about going to heaven is going to be able to see how God used the little things to big about his purpose.
Christopher Columbus, discouraged one day, walked by a monastery. He was thirsty, so he went into the monastery for a drink of water. And he sat down and as he was being refreshed with a drink of water. An old monk listened to his story of how he wanted to go on an expedition to find another land. That monk listened to that story and when it was all over, Christopher Columbus went on, but that old monk was a personal friend of Queen Isabella and he was the one who convinced her to finance the expedition of Christopher Columbus. The discovery of America started with a drink of water in a monastery.
Abraham Lincoln, he was out in the back of his store one day and he was rummaging through an old barrel. In fact, he was just kind of done rummaging and just reached down, and he felt a couple books in his hand. And he pulled them up and when he pulled them up he saw that they were Blackstone’s Commentaries. Something happened to Abraham Lincoln that day, and he read those and became a lawyer. It totally changed his direction and he got into politics and, of course, we know the story, he became the President of the United States and the healer of the sore of the Civil War. It all started with him rummaging in a barrel.
Circumstances? Coincidences?
John Calvin was going down to Italy. War broke out and the road that he was going to take to Italy was blockaded and so he went to Geneva. And anybody that studies the life of John Calvin knows that was a change in his life that literally has changed many lives.
George Whitfield, he was a bartender. Bartender in England, couldn’t get along with his brother’s wife and he owned the bar and so he left. It was out of that experience that he turned to God, went to Oxford and became part of the Holy Club with John Wesley and, literally, changed England and turned it around.
Coincidence? Circumstances?
Oh, folks, listen to me. Every detail of your life, God knows. Everything is appropriate in it’s time. The God who sets eternity in our heart is the same one who knows every moment and every step. In 1979 I was in England speaking and I was doing a little bit of traveling in Europe. I was in another denomination. And all of a sudden one evening around the dinner table they asked me if I would consider heading up evangelism for the Wesleyan church. I wasn’t even a Wesleyan. I said, "No, I don’t think so." Thousands of miles from here. I couldn’t sleep that night and the next morning at breakfast I said, "You know what, I would consider it." A couple months later I found myself in Marion, Indiana, heading evangelism for the Wesleyan church. Little did I realize what that would do because in doing general church business with the district superintendent, Steven Babby, one day I was on the phone and Dr. Butcher, the founding pastor of the church, walked into his office while a was on the phone. And Steve said, "I’m talking to John Maxwell." And he said, "We’re going to do a founder’s week in a couple of months, see if he’ll come out and speak a couple days for us."
I came out to California, by the way, I was already booked to be out here. And I came down and spoke for three days. That was in November, in January, he resigned this church. During the Christmas holidays after the November I was here, I was in Canada speaking a large conference in Toronto, and I had a pastor walk up and say, "John, I have been praying for you." He said, "I just feel that God is about to make a change in your life." I went about three weeks later down to Florida where my wife and I were spending a couple of weeks with her family, and one night Margaret looked at me and said, "John, I think God’s about to do a change in your life again." I said, "I think he’s about to put me in a church."
Got on the plane the next morning. Went to San Antonio, Texas. At the airport, called my secretary in Indianapolis and she said, "Pastor, if you get a chance call San Diego there’s somebody that wants to talk to you." And I called out here to Gary Bartlow and he said, "Would you mind putting your name on the list to pastor this church?"
Coincidence? No. I’m here to tell you folks, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And if Christmas tells me anything, Christmas tells me that God and his sovereign timing knows all about you and he knows all about me. And the little insignificant things every day of our life that we look at, we don’t even think about, that we pass off, some things that we become frustrated by, those insignificant things, all together are for his glory.
Wrapping up this sermon section, in my book in 1983 Your Attitude, Key To Success, I had a statement in there about timing and I want you to see it.
"The wrong decision at the right time equals disaster. The wrong decision at the right time equals a mistake. The right decision at the wrong time equals unacceptance. But the right decision at the right time equals success."
CONCLUSION
Now, close your Bibles, let me talk to you. Folks, listen to me carefully. Nothing stays the same. Doors open, doors close. Options today become non-negotiables tomorrow. No wonder the Bible says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found." If you would sit down and talk to Mary and all the things that were happening in her life at Christmas, she would look back and say, you know what, if there’s anything that I learned about Christmas, when God speaks, don’t miss the moment. Nothing stays the same.
I want you to bow your heads with me this morning because I want to tell you what God’s doing. God has a marvelous sense of timing. And for some of you, today is the day. In fact, this moment is the moment where God is about to do a new work in your life. For some of you it’s been a journey. And all of a sudden all these things that we’ve gone through have been for this moment where we reach out and touch God and God touches us.
In the first service this morning when I came to this part of the service, I asked for hands of people who would just say, "Pastor, today is the day that God wants to do a real work in my life. Today is the day where I’m to let him come in and fill me with his presence." And my, many hands were raised and many, many people today experienced exactly what God had for them. And in this hour it’s same. Every head bowed, every eye closed, how many of you would raise your hand and by raising your hand you’d say, "Pastor, this is my in a moment. God is reaching out to me and I want to reach out to Him. I want to seize the moment, the timing, with God." With every head bowed and every eye closed I wonder how many of you would raise your hand up high and say, "Pastor, as you close in prayer this morning, I just want to raise my hand and ask you to pray with me because I want to know God and I don’t want to miss the moment." And you’d raise your hands across the auditorium. You may put your hands down.
Okay. Look up at me if you raised your hands. Look up at me. I’m right down here on the main floor, coming down now. We’re going to stand. When we stand in a moment, you that raised your hands, I want you to come down and stand with me and the we’re going to have a prayer and this Christmas is going to be different than any other Christmas, because this is going to be the time that you meet God in a personal way.
Let’s stand together with our heads bowed and our eyes closed. You that raised your hands, slip right out of your seats right now and come down here with me. Heads bowed, eyes closed. All right. I want our Skyliners to kind of find a person and put your hand on them. Okay. Just gather around, would you please?
Our Father, I thank you for these who have come forward. What an exciting moment. This is the moment, Lord, that they have decided to reach out. The timing’s right. You’ve spoken to them. And now, they’re saying, "Okay, God, I give you my life. Come in." I thank you for our Skyline Christians who are praying with them and who will continue to pray with them in a moment. This is the most important decision that’s ever been made. If Christmas is anything, Christmas is reaching out, developing a relationship with you God. And my heart’s excited. I’m so thankful. I’m so thankful for our friends who are just allowing you to do a special work at this very moment in their life.
Lord, as we leave, as a congregation this morning, we’re going to, again, be aware that Christmas is all about timing. And that it’s important for us to seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near and I thank you for those who are doing that this morning. In your name. God bless you.
TODAY’S MESSAGE:
"A Gift Worth Waiting For"
Luke 2:1-6; Galatians 4:4-5
Christmas is about God’s sovereign timing in the lives of men.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11
God is aware of _______________________ in our lives. vv. 3:1-8
God has set __________________________ in our hearts. v. 11
Christmas is about God becoming man. Luke 2:7; Galatians 4:4
Christ was fully ___________________________.
Christ was fully ___________________________.
1. Mary might have felt the timing of Christ’s birth was bad because...
A. Her marriage was not yet ___________________________.
B. The birth of her child would be in ____________________.
C. The ________________ had totally disrupted all their plans.
D. There was no _________________________ in Bethlehem.
E. The housing situation was __________________________.
2. In the light of _______________, the timing was _____________.
The Old Testament said the Messiah would...
A. Emerge ______________________________. Genesis 3:15
B. Come from the nation of __________________. Genesis 1:2
C. Come from the tribe of _______________. Genesis 49:8-12
D. Come from the house of _____________. II Samuel 7:12-13
E. Be born of a ____________________________. Isaiah 7:14
F. Be born in ______________________________. Micah 5:2
G. Be visited and honored by _________. Isa. 60:3-9; Ps72:10.
3. In the light of _______________, the timing was _____________.
Historical conditions prepared for the birth of Christ through...
A. The ________________________________ of the Jews.
B. A favorable _________________________ environment.
C. A favorable _____________________________ climate.
D. A favorable _____________________________ climate.
E. A favorable _________________________ environment.
"The wrong decision at the wrong time equals disaster.
The wrong decision at the right time equals a mistake.
The right decision at the wrong time equals unacceptance.
But the right decision at the right time equals success."
John Maxwell, Your Attitude, Key to Success
