{"id":1188,"date":"2019-12-29T14:55:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-29T22:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=1188"},"modified":"2019-12-29T14:58:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-29T22:58:15","slug":"gods-perfect-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/29\/gods-perfect-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"God&#8217;s Perfect Plan!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"color:black;font: 10pt arial;\"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>  <w:WordDocument>   <w:View>Normal<\/w:View>   <w:Zoom>0<\/w:Zoom>   <w:TrackMoves\/>   <w:TrackFormatting\/>   <w:PunctuationKerning\/>   <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas\/>   <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false<\/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>   <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false<\/w:IgnoreMixedContent>   <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false<\/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>   <w:DoNotPromoteQF\/>   <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US<\/w:LidThemeOther>   <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE<\/w:LidThemeAsian>   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\tmso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; \tmso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; \tmso-fareast-font-family:\"Times New Roman\"; \tmso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; \tmso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; \tmso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; \tmso-bidi-font-family:\"Times New Roman\"; \tmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} <\/style>\n\n <![endif]--><\/p>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;color:#212121\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1188-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Christmas-1-12-29-19.mp3?_=1\" \/><source type=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/FILELINK?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Christmas-1-12-29-19.mp3\">http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Christmas-1-12-29-19.mp3<\/a><\/audio>&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">The First Sunday after Christmas <\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">December 29, 2019<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Galatians 4:4-7<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;tab-stops:13.5pt .5in 2.5in 238.5pt 337.5pt\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\">But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">&#8220;Abba,<\/i> Father.&#8221;<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>(NIV1984)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Dear fellow worshipers of the Christ-Child,<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Plans.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Have you ever made plans that simply did not work out?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Perhaps you had your family vacation all planned out, but then you or someone in your family became ill and you had to change your plans.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Perhaps you enrolled in college with the plan of taking up a specific career, but once you started taking the required classes you knew that you would have to change your career plans.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Perhaps you had your retirement nest-egg invested in a certain company or in a certain group of funds with the plan of retiring at a certain age, but then the company goes bankrupt or the stock market takes a nose dive and you have no choice but to change your plans.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">The plans that you and I make, my friends, all too often end up getting changed, don\u2019t they?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Sometimes our plans change because we change.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Sometimes our plans change because of things that are completely out of our control change.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">As you and I continue our celebration of Christmas we turn our attention to a portion of Scripture that I have long found fascinating.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Here in Galatians chapter four the apostle Paul reveals to us that Christmas did not just \u201chappen.\u201d<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>No, rather, here in Galatians chapter four the apostle Paul reminds us that Christmas was always a part of:<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan!<\/i><\/b><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>As we study our text for today I would like to highlight three \u201csteps\u201d in <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan!<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Whenever we are making plans to do something one of the first steps that we need to take is to prepare.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>You can\u2019t just wake up one morning and decide that instead of going to work or school you are going to take a trip across the country.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>You need to prepare for that trip.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>In a far greater way the apostle Paul reveals to us that the first step in <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was indeed to prepare.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>That preparation is found in the opening words of our text, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cBut when the time had fully come\u2026.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Why was Jesus born approximately 2,000 years ago?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Why not much earlier?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Why not now?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The answer to that question is because God had a <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">plan<\/i><\/b>!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>And to guarantee that His plan would \u201csucceed\u201d God saw to it that everything that was necessary for the Christ to be born was perfectly in place exactly where and when it needed to be.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>In short, God guided and directed the history of this world so that the world was prepared for Christmas!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">But let\u2019s think this through a little bit, shall we.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Sometimes in a moment of weakness or short-sightedness we might wonder why Jesus wasn\u2019t born in more \u201cmodern\u201d times\u2014 perhaps even in our time when worldwide communication is so easy and so accessible!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>We have access to the world-wide-web!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>We can tweet and text and snap chat with ease!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Personally, I can\u2019t even imagine what some people today would post on Facebook if John the Baptist called them to repent of their sins and change their sinful lifestyle.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>(See Matthew 3)<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Personally, I can\u2019t even imagine what the Pharisees and the experts in the law might have tweeted when Jesus judged them for their false doctrine and their hypocrisy.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>(See Matthew 23)<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Personally, I can\u2019t even begin to imagine a whole crowd of people with their cell phones out when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>(See John 11)<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>No, my friends, the God of heaven knew exactly what needed to take place for Paul to write, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cWhen the fullness of time had come\u2026.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">\u201cWhen the fullness of time had come\u2026.\u201d<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">The Greek word that is translated here in our text as <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cfullness\u201d<\/i> can also be translated as <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201ccompleteness.\u201d<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/i>Perhaps an easy way to picture this is to think of an elaborate jigsaw puzzle that you have been working on for quite a long time.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Each piece of the puzzle has to fit together exactly right.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>As more and more pieces of the puzzle come together, the picture becomes more and more clear.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>But, you cannot say that the picture is <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cdone\u201d<\/i> or <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cfinished\u201d<\/i> or <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201ccomplete\u201d<\/i> until that last piece is carefully put into place.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">How does that picture tie in with <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b>?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>How does that picture tie in with Christmas?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>We honestly don\u2019t have enough time to answer that question completely, my friends, so let me share with you some highlights.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>One of the ways in which God \u201cprepared\u201d the world for Christmas was to allow the Roman Empire to gain control of the Mediterranean world.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>As the Roman Empire marched east they brought with them a number of things which prepared the world for Christmas.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>For example, there was the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">Pax Romana<\/i>\u2014 the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">Peace of Rome.<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Whether it was on land or on the sea Rome imposed law and order on her empire.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>And to help enforce that peace Rome built roads.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Those roads enabled the powerful Roman legions to travel to any area of unrest anywhere in the empire and quickly restore peace.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Because of the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">Pax Romana<\/i> people could travel all over the empire in relative peace and safety\u2014 this included Mary, Joseph and the Christ-Child, it included Jesus and His disciples and it included Paul and the other Christian missionaries.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Another major part of God\u2019s preparation for Christmas centers on something that at first might seem odd and strange.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span>One might think that the \u201cofficial\u201d language of the Roman Empire would be Latin.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Not so!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Rome was so enamored with the Greek culture that they made Greek the official language of the Roman Empire.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>This meant that wherever God\u2019s missionaries traveled throughout the empire they could communicate the message of the Gospel by simply speaking Greek.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>This meant that when letters were written to various congregations and to various individuals those letters could be shared with the Christian church at large because they were written in a language that people could read and understand\u2014 Greek!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>That was a part of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> to prepare the world for Christmas!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Step two of any good plan centers on <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\">who<\/b> is going to carry that plan to completion.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>For <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> there was only one Person who could do this.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Paul writes, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cBut when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman\u2026.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">only<\/i><\/b> Person who could carry out <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was the Son of God Himself!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The true Son of God had to become the true Son of Man because <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> centered on one thing, my friends.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>It centered on Paul\u2019s words, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201c\u2026born of a woman, born under Law, to redeem those under law.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Since God requires holiness and perfection of anyone and everyone who wants to live in His heavenly Home and since we are not capable of living a holy and perfect life in thought and word and deed\u2014 <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to send His very own Son into this world to live a perfect life for us!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Since God also requires that each and every sin be paid for in full and since you and I are incapable of paying the debt of even one of our sins much less all of our sins (See Psalm 49:7-9) <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to send His very own Son into this world so that He could pay the debt of our sin for us!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>(Pointing to the cross)<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Through Jesus\u2019 perfect life and through Jesus\u2019 innocent suffering and death on the cross <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was brought to completion.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cIt is finished,\u201d<\/i> Jesus said (John 19:30).<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>We <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">are<\/i><\/b> redeemed.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>But there is even more!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Step one of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to put all the pieces in place so that this world was prepared for Christmas.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Step two of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to send His very own Son into this world to bring His plan to completion.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>What is step three?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Step three is found in Paul\u2019s words, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201c\u2026that we might receive the full rights of sons.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Step three of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to take everything Jesus accomplished and give it to you\u2014 as a gift, absolutely free of charge!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">When we were brought to faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior from sin\u2014 through the power of God the Holy Spirit working in Word and Sacrament\u2014 we were adopted to be God\u2019s own dearly beloved children.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>That is the goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b>!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>As the adopted children of God we now have <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201crights,\u201d<\/i> my friends.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Paul emphasizes two of those <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201crights\u201d<\/i> here in our text.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">First, Paul says, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cBecause you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out \u2018Abba, Father.\u2019\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The word <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cAbba\u201d<\/i> was oftentimes the very first word that a very young child learned for their father.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Today the word <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cAbba\u201d<\/i> would be akin to the word <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cDaddy.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cAbba\u201d<\/i> is a word that expresses a close, warm and friendly relationship between a child and their father.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The word <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cAbba\u201d<\/i> is found only three times in the New Testament Scriptures:<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>here in Galatians 4:6; in Romans 8:15; and in Mark 14:36 where Jesus says in the Garden of Gethsemane, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201c\u2019Abba,\u2019 Father, everything is possible for you.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Take this cup from me.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Yet not what I will, but what you will.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Think about what this means for you, my friends.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to give you the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i> to call the Almighty Creator of the universe, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201c\u2019Abba,\u2019 Father.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to give you the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i> to call upon the God of heaven using the very same name that Jesus Himself used to call upon His Father\u2014 <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201c\u2019Abba, Father.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to give you the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i> to address the eternal God with the close, friendly and endearing name, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cDaddy.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>What an awesome <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i>! What an amazing privilege! At any time and for any reason you can approach the throne of the living God Himself and say, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201c\u2019Abba,\u2019 Father\u2026\u201d<\/i> and He will say, \u201cYes, my dear child, I am listening.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">The second <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i> that Paul highlights here in our text is found in the closing verse, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cSo you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Once again it is so difficult for us to wrap our limited minds around what Paul is teaching us here.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Since we are by nature <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cslaves\u201d<\/i> of sin\u2014 whether it is the sin of idolatry or the sin of greed or the sin of jealousy or the sin of pride or any other of a whole host of sins, since by nature our \u201cautomatic default setting\u201d was to rebel against the Almighty, the goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> was to free you from your <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cslavery\u201d<\/i> to sin and adopt you to be His own dear child so that you would have the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright of inheritance.\u201d<\/i><span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>And what will you inherit as an adopted child of God?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>You will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven itself!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>The streets of gold and the gates of pearl, glory and perfection beyond imagination\u2014 they are yours! This is what you will inherit from your heavenly Father! Why?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Because you are so good?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Because you deserve it?<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Not at all!<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>This is what you will inherit from your heavenly Father because that\u2019s the goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> for you!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Plans.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>When it comes to the plans that you and I make, my friends, there is <u>always<\/u> the possibility that our plans will need to be changed.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>There are too many things we simply can\u2019t control.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>There are too many factors that we fail to foresee.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Thankfully, our eternity does not depend on what we do or the plans that we make.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Thankfully, our eternity is based solely on <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b>.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Since God Himself made all the preparations necessary for this plan and since God Himself sent His very own Son to perfectly carry out this plan we now have the awesome undeserved privilege of enjoying the goal of <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s perfect Plan<\/i><\/b>\u2014 the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i> to call God, <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cAbba, Father\u201d<\/i> plus the <i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">\u201cright\u201d<\/i> to inherit our heavenly Father\u2019s Home.<span style=\"mso-spacerun:yes\">&nbsp; <\/span>Surely <b style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight:normal\"><i style=\"mso-bidi-font-style:normal\">God\u2019s Perfect Plan<\/i><\/b> will lead us to say:<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">To God be the glory!<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-pagination:none\"><span style=\"font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;layout-grid-mode:line\">Amen<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"postie-attachments\">Download sermon audio ::  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Christmas-1-12-29-19.mp3\">Christmas-1-12-29-19.MP3<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The First Sunday after Christmas December 29, 2019 Galatians 4:4-7 God\u2019s Perfect Plan! &nbsp; But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.&nbsp; Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}