How are you? How is your week going? How’s your timing?
When I want to tell a funny story, I realize that one of the most important factors in a funny joke or a funny story is the timing. You don’t want to give away the punchline too quickly or too late. If you do, then no one will laugh and you will look foolish.
I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly worried about timing. Will I make it to a meeting on time? Will I be home on time for dinner? Are we overwhelming our members with the timing of all these programs? The timing of the deadline of Sunday worship is always coming… am I ready to preach? Am I able to time this Word of Encouragement to be sent out on Wednesday? It’s all about timing.
We talked about a lot of things this past Sunday: Christ’s identity, His teaching, His authority, and the Sabbath. But we also talked about the Jewish Feasts, and in that point, we essentially talked about timing.
Jesus tells His brothers that He will not go up to the Feast of Booths, because it is not His time yet. Essentially, He is saying that it is not His time to fulfill the Feast of Booths, which is to complete the harvest of souls and establish the consummate kingdom in the new heavens and the earth.
That time has not yet come, because He has to fulfill the Passover first. He fulfills the Passover by dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus knows that He has to lay down His life for the sake of His people and be raised on the third day. His time to be crucified has to come first.
And we know that Jesus did take up the cross and die for our sins. He was raised on the third day to give us resurrection life. That time has come, and He fulfilled it.
Not only that, the timing of the fulfillment of the second Jewish feast, the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, has already come as well. We have the Holy Spirit, and souls are being harvested now.
However, the timing of the fulfillment of the Feast of Booths is still to come. God knows that timing. We do not.
In the midst of all the timings in our lives, we can rest fully in the truth that it is ultimately God’s timing that matters. The time of Jesus’ death and resurrection has already come so that we may be saved. His timing of everything in our lives is perfect according to His will for His glory and for our good. The timing in the present is to share the gospel and harvest souls. The time of Jesus’ second coming will come.
May you trust in God’s timing today of everything that is happening in your life. May you partake in the fulfillment of the timing of Pentecost, by living in the Word by His Spirit for His glory and for the advancement of His kingdom. May you rest in the timing of the cross which is the foundation for our hope.
Please pray for the retreat! If you cannot join us for Lord’s Day Worship on Sunday, please worship with KM or NRG!
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
Photo Credit: https://blog.cloudflare.com/a-question-of-timing/