THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

In the fullness of time:

Last week I preached from

1. John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, Jesus Christ, to them gave He the power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."

The True meaning of Christmas:

Sue and Lily

Grandpa Carl, confused about his death.

Pastor Dave, Carl, myself in tune with the need for Jesus.

Christ took on flesh and entered our world. With the advent of Jesus, our tireless journey back to Eden came to an end. All that we longed for and desired in Eden can now be found in Christ, and he will one day rule the nations in perfect peace and wisdom.

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

“And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts“ (v. 6a).

There are two things going on here. The first is our adoption into God’s family. The second is the gift of the Spirit.

This verse sounds as if the sequence is that we first are adopted and then receive the Spirit. However, it seems likely that these two things would happen almost simultaneously in many instances.

GALATIANS 4:7.  A CHILD AND ALSO AN HEIR

The use of ei (“you” singular) makes this a very personal statement. It applies to each of the Christians to whom this letter is addressed—and to each of us who reads it today in faith.

We are brought into proper relationship with God as individuals—not en masse.

Adoption is a very personal process.

There might be more than one adopted child, but each child will have a name and an identity—and the adoptive parents will love each child personally. So it is with adoption into God’s household. The heavenly Father knows every hair on our heads (Matthew 10:30).

Through faith in Christ we have been transformed from slaves to sons and daughters—adopted into God’s family—engrafted into God’s family tree.

“and if a son (huios—a son) then an heir of God through Christ“ (v. 7b). Being sons and daughters confers on us the privileges associated with being an heir. Being an heir makes one eligible to receive an inheritance.

We are heirs by saying that we are “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17; see also Ephesians 3:6).

That is especially significant, given that God has appointed his Son “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). Ours is an “eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15)—a “city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10)—”a better country, that is, a heavenly one,” a city prepared for us by God” (Hebrews 11:16)—”the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22).

1. The coming of Jesus says that God remembers.

Two applications for us today. The first is for those of us who are waiting

You may be waiting and hoping for children. You may be stuck in a job you can’t wait to get out of. You may be in a tough marriage, and you’re just waiting for things to get better.

God is the God of perfect timing. “When the right time came…” God is always the God of perfect timing.

God had been preparing the historical and cultural conditions of that age to be the perfect time for his Son to arrive. We think we live in a time of rapid change and innovation.

Why did Jesus come? This is the purpose behind Christmas: “God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children” (Galatians 4:5). God intervened in history to change our relationship with him.

Four hundred years had passed since the close of the Old Testament. It was as if God had been silent all this time. Many, I'm sure, thought that God had forgotten His promises to send a Savior.

He redeemed us.

Some of you may feel that God has forgotten you. Let me assure you; He has not. Our text said when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son. The Bible says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. (2 Peter 3:9) If you are claiming God's promises hold on. Just remember, even when He's four days late, He's still right on time.

2. The coming of Jesus says that God cares.

The whole reason for Christmas is this: God wants you to be his child. God wants that kind of relationship with you. He wants you to experience the intimacy, the privileges, that come from being his child. “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you” (Galatians 4:7).

God sent His Son to die in our place. We owed a sin debt we could not pay. Jesus paid it all. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.

I've read that many people experience the after Christmas Blues.

You may think that everybody has forgotten you and that no-one cares. Let me assure you, God remembers, and God cares.

2020 has been the most challenging year in my life: Covid 19, political unrest, and rioting and burning. Almost everyone we know has had personal problems. There has been a loss of jobs, health issues, untimely death, to name only a few.

Prayer:

Thanks that you are the God of perfect timing.

Thanks for sending your Son – that the purpose of Christmas is that we could be your children, in a new relationship with you.