Christmas is about God delivering the promise of His presence at just the right time, so that we could experience God's presence as a follower of Jesus...

This week we have been looking at the reality that, when it comes to God’s presence, timing is everything. We have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Galatians, where a man named Paul revealed for us how God delivered His presence in the most radical way imaginable, so that all of humanity could know that God was real and that God was present and active in the world.

But when the fullness of time came; in other words, at just the right time. At just the right point in history, not too early, not too late, at just the right time, God sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ as a baby born to a teenage girl in a feeding trough for animals.

 Jesus entered into humanity and faced life here on earth under the same conditions that all of humanity faced, under the same rules, the same expectations and the same temptations that we face, so that He could totally and completely identify with us. You see, God sent His Son on specific mission to solve a specific problem. A problem that we caused; a problem that separated us from God; a problem that only God, in a bod, could solve.

Christmas began so that Jesus would be able to rescue humanity from the selfishness and rebellion that separated us from experiencing God’s presence. Jesus entered into humanity as a baby in a feeding trough so that He could grow up and live the life that we were created to live but refused to live by following all of God’s commandments, all of the time, so that He could then allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. You see, it is not what we do for God that results in us experiencing God’s presence; it is placing our confident trust in what God has done for us through Jesus life, death, and resurrection that results in us experiencing God’s presence in our lives.

In addition, Christmas began so that we could experience God’s presence as His children. Paul explains that Jesus entered into humanity so that we might receive the adoption as sons. In the Roman culture of the 1st century, For Paul to write that God sent His Son Jesus to rescue humanity from selfishness, sin and rebellion so that we would be adopted as His children in spite of our performance, this would have been a revolutionary statement. This would have been difficult to comprehend.

That God would adopt us in spite of our performance instead of because of our performance? That God would make us a permanent member of His family? That I could never be disowned, not because of my performance for God, but because of God’s performance for me? However, Christmas is about God delivering His presence in order to provide an opportunity for rescue and to experience His presence in spite of your performance, not because of your performance. And to provide further evidence of this reality, Paul states the following in Galatians 4:6-7:

Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Here we see Paul explain that we know that God has delivered  on the promise of His presence in order to rescue us from rebellion and adopt us as sons because God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying Abba! Father! The term Abba, in the language that this letter was originally written in, was a term of endearment that was used in the culture of the day to describe one’s closeness to one’s father. In our culture today, this would be a word picture of a young child crawling into the lap of their father and saying “daddy”. 

The word father here, however, conveys the sense of a recognition of God as the Creator and caretaker of the universe. Paul’s point here is that the Holy Spirit is given to followers of Jesus to us as a gift to enable us to recognize our adoption as sons and to empower us to live as His Sons. It is the Holy Spirit’s presence that results in us experiencing God’s presence and empowers us to live our lives in light of His presence. We have access the experience God’s presence and power in our lives because Christmas is about God delivering on His promise to provide His presence in a way that provides us the opportunity to be adopted as a child of the Creator and sustainer of the universe.

And because of that reality, Paul explains that we are no longer a slave who is not a part of the family of God. Instead, we have been adopted into the family of God, in spite of our performance. And as a result of our adoption through God gracious act of sending His Son that first Christmas so that we could experience God’s presence, we are an heir. An heir is one who receives the possession of another.

In the Roman culture of Paul’s day, adopted children became co- heirs with the natural children of their parent’s estates. Paul’s point here is that, as a follower of Jesus, we are a co-heir with Jesus of the Kingdom of Heaven. We share now, and in all eternity, with Jesus, all the blessings that come from living in relationship with God as part of His kingdom.

And the reason that we can experience those blessings is because Christmas is not about us experiencing presents; Christmas is all about God providing the opportunity for all of humanity to experience God’s presence. Christmas is all about God revealing His presence in the most radical way imaginable, so that all of humanity could know that God was real and that God was present and active in the world.

Christmas is about God promising to solve a problem that no present under a tree could ever solve. Christmas is about God promising to solve a problem that only the presence of the Son of God hanging on a tree could solve. And Christmas is about God delivering the promise of His presence at just the right time, so that we could experience God's presence as a follower of Jesus.

Christmas is about God delivering on that promise at just the right time, by sending His Son Jesus to enter into humanity in order to live the life we were created to live but refused to live, so that He could willingly allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Because when it comes to God’s presence, timing is everything.

Maybe you recognize that timing is everything and you are at the place where the time has come for you to respond to the gift of God’s presence through His Son Jesus. Maybe you are wondering “how do I experience forgiveness and God’s promise of His presence in my life by becoming a follower of Jesus?”

The answer is quite simple and can be summarized in three simple words: believe, trust, and follow. First, you need to believe. You need to believe that you are who you are; that you have done selfish things that have hurt God and others and are in need of forgiveness. And you need to believe and that Jesus was who He said He was; that Jesus was God in a bod, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived His perfect life.

Second, you need to trust that Jesus death for your selfishness and sin provides forgiveness and the relationship with God you were created for. And third, you need to follow Jesus as Lord and Leader.

If you desire to accept God’s experience God’s presence and enter into the relationship with Him that you were created for, you simply need to express to Him that you believe, trust, and desire to follow Jesus as Lord and Leader. There are no magic words, prayers, or formulas. Just talk to God and express that desire to Him.

Because when it comes to God's presence, timing is everything...