Series: THE FULLNESS

PART 2 – THE FULLNESS OF TIME

Today’s Text: Galatians 4:4-7 ESV

⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

Acts 3 NLT

3 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ² As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple.³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

⁴ Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. ⁶ But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

⁷ Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. ⁸ He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

⁹ All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God.¹⁰ When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!¹¹ They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

Peter Preaches in the Temple

¹² Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? ¹³ For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of all our ancestors, who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. ¹⁴ You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. ¹⁵ You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

¹⁶ “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed, and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

¹⁷ “Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. ¹⁸ But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah, that he must suffer these things. ¹⁹ Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. ²⁰ Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. ²¹ For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’²³ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’

²⁴ “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. ²⁵ You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’ ²⁶ When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”

Peter and John before the Council

Acts 4:1-13 NLT

4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. ² These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. ³ They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. ⁴ But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

⁵ The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. ⁷ They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” ⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, ⁹ are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? ¹⁰ Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’

¹² There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” ¹³ The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 

1.The Fullness Time:

God’s Plans and Purposes

Galatians 4:4–5 (NLT) 

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son…”

Christ came at the appointed time.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

·       Ecclesiastes 3:1 - “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

·       Habakkuk 2:3 - The vision “will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.”

·       Psalm 31:15 - “My future is in your hands.”

·       Ephesians 1:9–10 - God revealed His mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to be fulfilled “at the right time.”

·       Romans 5:6 - “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us.”

·       Acts 1:7 - “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times.”

·       Isaiah 60:22 - “At the right time, I, the LORD, will make it happen.”

There is a fullness that comes when God's purpose meets God's appointed time.

2.   The Fullness Time:

Time Spent with Him in His Presence

Psalm 16:11:

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

Then these fit beautifully:

Psalm 27:4 - David’s “one thing”: to live in the house of the Lord and delight in Him.

Psalm 84:10 - “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!”

James 4:8 - “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”

Luke 10:39–42 - Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha was distracted; Jesus says Mary chose what was better.

John 15:4–5 -“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” Fruitfulness flows from abiding.

Exodus 33:14 - “The LORD replied, ‘I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest.’”

Psalm 46:10 - “Be still, and know that I am God!”

The fullness of time is about waiting on God’s timing.

The fullness of His presence is about what we do while we wait.

We don’t just wait for God’s plan; we wait with God in His presence.

 Don’t become so focused on what God is going to do that you miss what God wants to do in you while you wait.