December 14th, 2003, Sunday Morning The Day Saddam Hussein was Captured "Perfect Timing" The perfect plan that delivered the perfect Gift at the perfect time OPENING: Luke 2:1-20 (THE Christmas Story)

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• Have you ever tried to "perfectly" plan an event special to you--like a wedding, graduation or party--and everything seemed to have gone wrong?
  
  
  • TESTIMONY: This church's pastor married his wife, Jan, 25 years ago and they planned the "perfect wedding." But a few things came undone at the last minute:
    
    
    • Jan and the pastor got food poisoning at the rehearsal dinner location
    • Catering brought the wrong dress and wedding cake to the church
    • The florist was involved in a major accident and was late for decorating the church (and was still decorating during the ceremony!)
    • The florist didn't bring the Unity Candles for the lighting ceremony--Pastor was running around the church in his tux looking for two
    • Pastor's best man, a police officer, revealed at the last minute he had a loaded .38 revolver under his tux jacket
    • The ring bearer threw a fit as he was coming down the aisle
    • And as the two went on their week-long honeymoon to Colorado Springs, Jan got a bladder infection and the Penrose Memorial hospital emergency room only accepted cash but their BlueCross/BlueShield insurance was not good in Colorado
    • Consequently, as a result of not having cash, their week-long, expensive hotel reservation was downgraded to a two-day stay in the local Motel-6
    
    
  • LESSON: We can plan well and have all the back-up plans in the world but sometimes circumstances are out of our control and we must simply react to the moment in front of us
    
    
    • However, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was a perfectly planned event, perfectly carried out by God, showing us that circumstances are controlled by God--not the other way around; Therefore, all things planned by God will happen the way God intends--every time--perfectly
  
  
• GOD CONTROLLED MANY FACTORS AT DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS ON EARTH IN ORDER FOR CHRIST TO BE BORN AT THE CRUTIAL TIME IN HISTORY GOD DEEMED RIGHT (NOTE: B.C. dates below courtesy of the Reverend C.I. Scofield-commented edition of the King James Bible):
  
  
  • Galatians 4:4: Paul, in effect, is telling the Galatian church that God sent forth Christ to be born at the proper ("fullness of the") time
    
    
  • Mark 1:15: Jesus later prefaced the soon return of the Kingdom of God by beginning with, "The time is fulfilled"; In other words: the time is right for His imminent return
    
    
  • HISTORICAL PROOF OF GOD'S FORETELLING WHEN JESUS IS TO BE BORN (and keep in mind the argument is still made today that it was a year between 6 B.C. or at the transition between B.C. and A.D.):
    
    
    • Daniel 9:25: One of God's prophets, Daniel, foretold (two years in advance) in 538 B.C. that the time between the rebuilding of the destroyed Jerusalem and the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ would be "seven weeks" (where, Biblically speaking, one week = seven years)
      
      
    • Ezra 1:1-2 and Ezra 6:15-16: So God "stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia" in 536 B.C. to begin the rebuilding and the job was finished just after 515 B.C.; Therefore, "some years after 515 B.C.", 490 years later, it is proven the Ezra, the prophet of God was not only correct but it happened when God said it would
      
      
    • CONCLUSION: Whereas no one on earth can accurately predict the return of Jesus today (and those who have tried have seen their time pass), with God, two events 490 years apart was foretold two years in advance--and both happened just as it was foretold
      
      
      • (ASIDE: Matthew 24:35-36: If anyone claims to predict the return date/time of Christ, you can automatically declare him a liar because only the Father knows the time.)
    
    
  • THE FORETELLING OF DETAILS OF JESUS CHRIST'S BIRTH:
    
    
    • Micah 5:2: In 710 B.C. (just over 700 years before it came true), God's prophet, Micah, declared that Bethlehem, while "little among the thousands of Judah," yet shall be born Christ the Savior--so we have location
      
      
    • Matthew 2:23: And it was foretold Jesus "shall be called a Nazarene."--and Jesus' parents were from different locations: Mary from Magdala and Joseph from Nazareth
      
      
    • Luke 2:1: Around 5 B.C., the Lord decided that now is the right time for His Son's birth to happen (in Bethlehem by parents not from there) so God begins by making Caesar Augustus take a census (or, in the King James Bible, a "tax") of all the people
      
      
      • (Proverbs 21:1: How did Augustus know to begin the census now instead of a different time or season? Because God "moved his heart" to order it around 5 B.C.)
      
      
    • Luke 2:4-7: And only because of this tax did Joseph travel out of his hometown Nazareth to Bethlehem where He and Mary gave birth to Jesus there
      
      
    • CONCLUSION: The 700+ year old prediction of when, where and of what race our Lord Jesus Christ would be born was perfectly accurate: it happened at the time told, in Bethlehem, by parents whose father was from Nazareth, resulting in Jesus being a Nazarene
    
    
  • FORETELLING OF "JOHN THE BAPTIST"'S BIRTH--an important connection
    
    
    • John the Baptist's birth happened at a special time, as well, so he could proclaim the Gospel while Jesus was alive
      
      
    • Luke 1:79: In B.C. 6, just a few weeks before Jesus' birth, Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, prophesied his son "shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;"
      
      
    • Matthew 3:1-2: And in the days of 3 B.C. (three years after John's father's prophecy), John the Baptist began his preaching for all to repent because "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."--during the time Jesus was alive on earth
    
    
  • THE CHOICE TIME OF THE WISE MEN (Magi) GATHERING AT THE BIRTH
    
    
    • Now certain protocol had to be followed by certain individuals at the time of Jesus' birth; this was the duty of the "Wise Men" who didn't even know the world's Savior, Jesus, was to be born, and even if they did, where to find Him
      
      
    • Matthew 2:1-10: Three Magi from the Orient (east) heard but didn't know where Jesus was to be born so they asked king Herod; king Herod, discovering the prophecy wrote Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, told the Magi to go there
      
      
    • Matthew 2:11: The Magi did so, following God's "star of the east" until they found Jesus and presented their gifts to Him, in protocol
      
      
    • CONCLUSION: God chose the right people to ask a king for directions to the Savior's birth in which they arrived to present gifts at the appropriate (perfect) time: just as Jesus was born
  
  
• 1 Peter 1:19-20: God's plan of the gift of Jesus' birth (so man could be saved) was begun before the beginning of the world (talk about planning ahead of time!)
  
  
  • Because of this, we can conclude all events happen in this world not just because they happen but because they had reason and purpose for happening--just like in your life; it is fate--controlled by God (the "will" of God)
  
  
• Romans 5:6: Jesus Christ was crucified--at the right time--so man could be saved ("in due time Christ died for the ungodly.")
  
  
  CLOSER

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• God has perfectly timed, pre-determined plans for every of your life. His plan will take precedence over yours; but you can take comfort in that because while your plan has the possibility of failure, His plan for you never does or will
  
  
  • Ephesians 1:4: God knows you better than you know yourself because He planned and knew you before the world was formed
  
  
• Because God arranged the birth of His Son for the salvation of the world before the world was formed, you can rest assured He has control over what happens or doesn't happen in this world and in your life--"things don't happen just because they happened"
  
  
• In today's society, Christmas is further de-generating into "the annual time of tradition where family comes together to exchange gifts"; but Christmas is not about solely family and it's not related to Santa Claus--it's about celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ--God's perfectly timed gift to man
  
  
• Attending Sunday church is not about the traditional start-of-the-week gathering; it's about constantly celebrating (observing) the birth, life, death and gift of salvation from Jesus Christ to man--an event not to only be celebrated during Christmas
  
  
• Where were you this morning when the news reported Saddam Hussein's capture? Did this happen by coincidence or "just because" or "because we got lucky" or because we interrogated the right person for the information? No--Saddam was captured at this day and time because it was in God's plan for it to happen at this perfect time
  
  
• 2 Corinthians 6:2: And just as God's perfect gift of Jesus to you was perfectly timed, "behold, now is the accepted time" to reconcile yourself to Him to become saved