God is Always on Time

Revelation 1:1–8 (NKJV)

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Alpha and Omega = God is before and after everything that exist

Before the world was created, God was

After the world will be destroyed, God will be

Time doesn't mean anything to God

He is before and after time simultaneously

Eternity is conceptually impossible for us to grasp

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

People long to understand our eternal significance and purpose

There is only one God who exists outside of time

Isaiah 43:10–13 (NKJV)

10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior. 12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God. 13 Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?”

No other gods existed before God

There are other gods… there is just no god like our GOD

besides Me there is no savior = Other things can help… but they cant save (what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul)

“have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you” = I’ve been saving, delivering and healing before you ever created the other gods… Old school God

“Indeed before the day was, I am He” = You don’t need to tell God whats going on… he already knows. you need to trust Him

Idols made of stone, gold and silver

Sun was created by God

People are temporary and mortal.God is eternal and immortal

Nothing in this world is qualified to be God

God exists outside of Time, Matter and Space

Bible Examples of God working in time

Genesis 18:9–15 (NKJV)

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Sarah thought it was crazy that God fulfilling the promise. Her mistake was timing.

He is too late, I could have had a baby, but not anymore

God knows when the time is right

God knows, when you are ready

Physical barriers don’t mean anything to God

John 11:21–26 (NKJV)

Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Mary’s mistake was thinking that death would stop God

Mary had never seen anyone who was more powerful than death

“I am (right now) the resurrection and the life” = Jesus has authority over death — He had the power of the resurrection

The challenge of the church is to wait on God’s timing

Acts 1:7 (NKJV)

7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

It can get frustrating not knowing the timing and plan of God

It is a matter of understanding and maturity.

Sometimes it is a matter that we would never understand why God does what He does.

trying to explain complex ideas to a 4-year old

Sometime it is a matter of knowledge. God knows the way of every heart.

We see an example of this with Abraham, Lot and Sodom & Gomorrah

Closing

The Bible encourages us to wait on God

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Habakkuk 2:3 (NKJV)

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.=

Psalm 27:14 (NKJV)

14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!