Understanding God's Timings

Sermon Notes, Sermon Outline and Small Group Study Guide

Understanding God's Timings

Sunday August 20, 2023

We have just completed a series of messages on “Following Jesus in Prayer.” One other
aspect that we observe in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus is that He followed the
Father’s timing for His life.

Regarding His birth the Bible tells us that God sent Him into the world at just the right
time. He was born in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4). In the Gospels, we notice that
the Lord Jesus moved in step and was aligned to the Father’s timing for His life. Major
events of His life were carried out in the Father’s time.

Let’s make a few observations, and lessons we can learn from these.

EXERCISING RESTRAINT BEFORE THE TIME

John 2:4
Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has
not yet come."

The Lord Jesus waited 30 years before He began His earthly ministry.

There are theological and cultural reasons why Jesus waited 30 years.

Theological - The Jewish Levites began their priestly service at age thirty (Numbers
4:3,23,30,35). “Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh”
(Genesis 41:46). “David was thirty years old when he became king” (2 Samuel 5:4). This
led to the Jewish understanding that age thirty was a time when a man was mature in all
ways, and ready for life's responsibilities.

Cultural - Jewish scribes and Rabbis (teachers) began their official work as teachers at the
age of thirty. Jesus, at age 30, was accepted as a Rabbi (teacher). People did not look
down on him because of His age. He was called a "Rabbi" (Matthew 26:25; Mark 9:5; John
1:38,49; 3:2,26; 4:31; 6:25; 20:16)

Father’s Timing – but most importantly, as we read in John 2:4, Jesus was listening to the
Father’s timing. He waited till He was 30, until He heard the Father tell Him that His hour
had come.

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This meant that He had to exercise restraint, and do the simple ordinary things, working
as a carpenter with His earthly father Joseph, till this age.

John 7:6,8
6 Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.
8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet
fully come."

Even in going up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus let His family go ahead, and
then went into Jerusalem a little later. The reason He stated was timing.

Personal application: Do we exercise restraint and wait to follow God’s timings for our
lives?

CONFIDENT IN LIFE BECAUSE OF GOD'S TIMING

John 7:30
Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour
had not yet come.

John 8:20
These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid
hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

The Lord Jesus knew that the Jewish leaders were after Him. He knew when to be cautious
and He knew when to step out in the open. There were times the Bible says Jesus did not
move about openly and hid himself (John 7:10; John 8:59; John 11:54). Then there were
times He stood boldly in the Temple and taught. He did this and no one harmed Him
because His time had not yet come.

While we must live life prudently, we must also live boldly in obeying God and what He
wants us to do.

Personal application: There are certain things we can step in and do, because we know
God’s appointed time to do it has come, and therefore we will see God’s protection, God’s
provision, God’s hand upon us in that matter.

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RECOGNIZING AND RESPONDING WHEN THE TIME HAS COME

John 12:23
But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be
glorified.

John 12:27
"Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But
for this purpose I came to this hour.

John 13:1
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that
He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the
world, He loved them to the end.

John 17:1
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has
come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

John 16:32
Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his
own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

In the preceding verses in John 7 and John 8, the Lord Jesus did certain things, because
He knew “the hour” had not yet come. But in these Scriptures in John 12,13,17 – that
hour, “the hour” had come. The time for His crucifixion had arrived. The Lord Jesus
recognized this - the time has come. He readied Himself, emotionally, and in everyway
for the great assignment.

Personal application: Do we recognize God’s timing for specific assignments, and do we

ready ourselves to do it well and fulfill the assignment?

FORESEEING WHAT LIES AHEAD - THE TIME IS COMING

John 4:21,23
21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on
this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

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John 5:25,28
25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear
the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will
hear His voice

John 16:2
They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you
will think that he offers God service.

John 16:4
But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I
told you of them. "And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was
with you.

John 16:25
"These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when
I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the
Father.

It is interesting to note that in His teachings, the Lord Jesus was sensitive to timing. He
taught about things that would be done in the future. He also warned His disciples of
things they would face in the future and indicated that they would better understand
things in the future. He operated in the present, with an eye on the future, on what the
Father had kept for the time to come.

Personal application: Do we operate with foresight? Do we operate in the present with

an eye on the future – what we know God will do in the future in our lives, and in the lives
of those we serve?

GOD’S TIMINGS FOR OUR LIVES

There is a lot the Scriptures teach us about God’s timings for our lives.

Let’s consider these:

Psalm 31:15
My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those
who persecute me.

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Our times, the seasons, the when, the kairos moments (appointed times) of our lives are
in God’s hands.

Daniel 2:21-22
21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He
gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells
with Him.

God orchestrates the changes in times and seasons of our lives.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-11
10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts,
except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Each of us are occupied with our God-given task in life. As we go about these God-given
tasks, we must remember that God causes things to come to their fullness, to be
“beautiful” in their set time.

We understand that God works according to His timings for our lives.

Our responsibility is to understand God’s timings and respond correctly.

We must discern God’s timings for our lives.
We must walk in time and in step with Him.
We must recognize and respond to God’s timings.
We must prepare ourselves for things that are coming up in the near future and in the
long term.

DISCERNING TIME AND PURPOSE

Ecclesiastes 8:5-6
5 ...And a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment,
6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment, Though the misery of man
increases greatly.

There is the right time and the right course of action for every matter (purpose, objective).
It takes wisdom to understand time (the right time to do something) and judgment (the
right course of action, the right thing to do).

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And like the Psalmist we need to pray for this wisdom – the understanding of timing.

Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

May we be like the sons of Issachar, who recognized the time, and also what needed to
be done.

1 Chronicles 12:32
of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought
to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;

Advertisement: We have a free APC Book: “A Time for Every Purpose” if you wish to delve
further in this topic in Scripture.

GOSPEL AND SALVATION CALL

SUPERNATURAL MINISTRY TIME

Minister as the Spirit leads

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LIFE GROUP STUDY GUIDE

Understanding God's Timings

Sunday August 20, 2023

The is a simple guide for use in Life Group discussions. Our objective is to focus on the
application of the Sunday sermon - how each one is becoming a doer of the Word and
building their life on God's Holy Word. The Life Group meeting would normally last for 2
hours. Each Life Group would have up to 12-15 people.

Preparation
To prepare for the Life Group meeting, you can listen to the Sermon Key Points (sermon
summary in five minutes) or the full-length Sunday sermon. You can also review the
Sunday Sermon notes. All these are available in the "All Peoples Church Bangalore" mobile
App or online at our sermons page. Pray for the Life Group meeting and invite the work
and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Welcome
The Life Group meeting may commence with a time of prayer, worship, and a fun activity.

LISTEN to God's Word

Read the following Scripture references: Psalm 31:15; Ecclesiastes 3:10-11; Ecclesiastes
8:5-6; 1 Chronicles 12:32

INVESTIGATE God's Word Together

Please discuss a few of these together, giving time for people to share their insights. We
encourage each one individually to make notes of their personal learning during the
Group discussion.

1, Discuss the observations we made from the life of Jesus and share practical
experiences/applications for each A-D:

A, Do we exercise restraint and wait to follow God’s timings for our lives? Share any
personal experience where you had to practice this.

B, There are certain things we can step in and do, because we know God’s appointed time
to do it has come, and therefore we will see God’s protection, God’s provision, God’s hand

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upon us in that matter. Share any personal experience where you stepped out boldly
because you knew "what time it was.”

C, Do we recognize God’s timing for specific assignments, and do we ready ourselves to do

it well to fulfill the assignment?

D, Do we operate with foresight? Do we operate in the present with an eye on the future
– what we know God will do in the future in our lives, and in the lives of those we serve?

If time permits, each one can take a few (3 minutes max) to share one or two key learning
and how they see themselves applying it into their specific life situations. Encourage each
one to participate and share.

FELLOWSHIP by sharing your life and spiritual journey

Each one takes a few (3 minutes max) to share anything from their walk with God,
something God has been teaching them, a testimony of answered prayer or a specific
challenge that they would like prayer for. Encourage each one to participate and share.

ENCOURAGE each other by praying and ministering to one another

Get into small groups of two or three and take turns to thank God and pray for each other
in the light of what was learnt today. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Expect the gifts of the Holy
Spirit to flow bringing healing, releasing miracles, prophecy, etc.

Regroup and pray together for:

1, families to be protected and strengthened
2, a mighty outpouring of God's Holy Spirit on us as a church and through us to bless many
others in our city and nation. Nothing but a mighty work of God's Spirit can change our
city and nation.
3, for the BUILD TO IMPACT project - for God's hand to guide us through the land search
and acquisition process, and for finances to be more than enough to get this project done.

Close by thanking God together.

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SERMON OUTLINE
The times of our lives are in God’s hands. God changes the times and seasons of our lives.
As we go about our God-given tasks, we must do so with the understanding that God
makes these “beautiful” in His time. We observe and draw lessons from the life of Jesus,
where He walked according to the Father’s timing for His life. We must exercise restraint
and wait to follow God’s timings for our lives. There are certain things we can step in and
do, because we know God’s appointed time to do it has come, and therefore we will see
God’s protection, God’s provision, God’s hand upon us in that matter. We must recognize
God’s timing for specific assignments, and ready ourselves to do it well to fulfill the
assignment. We must operate with foresight. We must operate in the present with an eye
on the future – what we know God will do in the future in our lives, and in the lives of
those we serve.

KEYWORDS
Times and seasons, God’s timing, sermon, sermons, sermon notes, sermon outline, free
sermon notes, free sermon outlines, Bible study resources

REFERENCES/CITATIONS

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 Understanding God's Timings
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 2020,
(NASB) Copyright © by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

Biblical definitions, Hebrew and Greek words and their meanings are drawn from the following
resources:

Thayer's Greek Definitions. Published in 1886, 1889; public domain.

Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong,
S.T.D., LL.D. Published in 1890; public domain.

Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, © 1984, 1996, Thomas
Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary. Edited by William D. Mounce with Rick D. Bennett, Jr.
(1993)

Word Pictures in the New Testament. Archibald Thomas Robertson. Published in 1930-1933;
public domain.

Word Studies in the New Testament. Marvin R. Vincent, D.D. (1886)

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