Just the Right Time

 Micahel

Sprague

PREPARING THE NURSERY

There is a lot to love about the Christmas season: lights, trees, family, faith and music. I just saw the list of the 100 top Christmas songs.  "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" was #8. "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" was in the top 20. Sorry grandmas! Can you guess the #1 Christmas song? 

Silent Night! which was written in 1818. Between the end of the Old Testament and beginning of the New Testament there were many Silent Nights. 400 years worth. No prophets. No new messages. Silence. In most of our Bibles there is one blank page between Malachi and Matthew. It is referred to as the intertestamental period or the 400 years of silence.

Maybe you have been going through dark times and Silent Nights. It is during these times when God is SILENT we must remember He is not STILL, and we lean into his SOVEREIGNTY. Oh how God was busy during those 400 silent years rearranging the world stage for the arrival of Jesus.

I was reading Galatians 4:4a today and was blown away, “But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His son.” God readied the nursery in Bethlehem for a baby to rescue people from their sins. The dots all connected with a convergence of circumstances that would rock the world and quickly spread the Good News. Here are five keys on how the world was prepared for the Invasion from Glory:

1. COMMON LANGUAGE - Koine, the common Greek Language permeated the empire so people, both great and common, could easily communicate.

2. ROADS - 55,000 miles of roads were paved to create pathways for commerce and communication, including the gospel.

3. PAX ROMANO - The Peace of Rome provided a time of relative quiet peace in human history.

4. SYNAGOGUES - The emergence of the synagogue system of local worship centers throughout the empire provided a built-in launchpad for Jesus, Paul, and others to announce the Good News.

 

5.  INTERNATIONAL HIGHWAY - The number one rule of real estate is Location, Location, Location. God positioned Israel as the Landbridge to three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe. Commerce, trade, and travel in the ancient world went right through Israel and in particular the headquarters of Jesus in Capernaum. The nations could make money and hear about the Living God.

Only God! What timing. The stage was set. The fulness of time had come. The world would never be the same. Outwardly, it would have looked like the Roman Empire had the same problems and wickedness that characterizes our day, but the Father was working. He is equally at work in our times and in your life and mine. How might He use the internet? Times of Turmoil? Your job? The ability to travel? International students coming to our campuses? Remember - when God seems SILENT, He is not STILL and we need to lean into his SOVEREIGNTY.