2. An 'Appointed Time' for the Body of Christ: A Word to the Global Church 2011

By David Orton

You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times (kairos).  Mt 16:3

You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favour to her; the appointed time has come. Ps 102:13

Not all moments of history are equal. Some are hinges on which a quantum increase of the kingdom swings. We are currently in one of these.

If we fail to discern accurately what God is doing in this moment much will be lost to this generation. It is imperative for us to understand the times, like the sons of Isaachar, that we might know what to do (1 Chr 12:32).

The New Testament has two Greek words for 'time'.

Chronos refers to the general flow of time, from which we derive our English words chronology and chronometer (the instrument by which we measure time - i.e. a clock or wristwatch).

Kairos, however, refers to an 'appointed time' for a specific purpose. As a momentary window it demands an accurate and forceful response for its purpose to be achieved. For example, it was the word used in the weaving process for the momentary opening of the fabric through which the shuttle travels. It was also used in archery for the narrow aperture in space and time through which an arrow shoots to hit its target.

A kairos, therefore, in God, is an opening in time through which God comes to achieve a particular purpose, demanding an immediate and forceful response. Jesus describes this when he explained that the kingdom of God must be taken forcefully (Mt 11:12). Responding to a kairos requires spiritual violence. First, it must be recognised; and secondly, it can only be entered through radical obedience.

The wisdom writer aptly declares that, "Without a vision (or prophetic revelation) the people live carelessly", or as Eugene Peterson puts it,

If people can't see what God is doing,

they stumble all over themselves;

But when they attend to what he reveals,

they are most blessed.

Pr 29:18

We have been stumbling "all over ourselves" for the next best thing in church growth and community impact; and, particularly in the prophetic and larger Charismatic streams, for increased spiritual phenomena, because we have not discerned accurately what God is doing.

With the knowledge that God does nothing except he reveals his counsel to his prophets first (Amos 3:7), I submit the following word for your discernment.

"October 8"

In November 2009 I awoke one morning with the voice of God ringing loud in my spirit with the words, "October 8".

There was nothing more; and so, for the next eleven months I pondered it's meaning, sensing it was significant.

And then, as the date approached, I received a phone call from a particular leadership team inviting me to meet with them on "October 8". I had no other appointments for that date, and so, I knew this meeting was significant. After a five-year journey they were at an impasse, meeting to consider the future of the group.

A season of maturity and harvest

To back up a bit, for several months leading up to this I had seen a phenomenon across the larger body of Christ: that we are in a season of full maturity and harvest. Seeds of character and destiny planted over years, and especially in the last season, are coming to full maturity. Decision by decision, seemingly insignificant at the time, choices have been made, imperceptibly forming characters and destinies. What was not visible in the seed is now made visible in the mature fruit. It is only at harvest that wheat and tares can be distinguished. This explains why, on the extreme end of the scale, there has been a sudden outbreak of high profile ministers being brought to the light for gross departures from the faith, from false teaching to double lifestyles of adultery or homosexuality.

A harvest of two seeds

We are entering a harvest season, but a harvest of what? It is the harvest of two seeds: of wheat and tares - of the flesh and of the Spirit. Our response to the kingdom of God determines whether we sow to the Spirit or to the flesh. It is important to understand that the "flesh" is not referring to our physical bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but in the Pauline sense, to our fallen human nature that is predisposed to self-effort and self-will, particularly in our attempts to serve God. These two seeds are within all of us. When yielded to two kinds of Christians result. They are illustrated in Ishmael and Isaac. While both were of the same father, Abraham, Ishmael was conceived by the flesh. With the delayed realisation of the promised son Abraham impatiently resorted to his own plans and power to bring it to pass. Isaac, on the other hand, as the son of promise, was born through Abraham's faith and patience at the 'appointed time', twenty-five years after the promise. 'Ishmaels' and 'tares', therefore, are attempts at achieving the divine purpose prematurely through our own efforts.

We must remember that the parable of the wheat and tares is a kingdom parable addressed to the generation from whom the kingdom was about to be taken. The parable, therefore, as with all the kingdom parables, is not about heaven and hell, but about yielding to the character of the king and his kingdom. Therefore, being a 'tare' is not so much about losing personal salvation, or living in gross sin, but rather about missing the fullness of the kingdom through the dominance of self. Sons will always remain sons. However, the question is whether they will be mature sons. Those who refuse kingdom maturity will be disinherited, losing the kingdom, while those who submit to the maturing process of God's disciplines will inherit Father's business.

A sifting & sorting

The last season has been a sifting and the next will be a sorting. In the sifting we have made decisions, seemingly inconsequential at the time, but with spiritual consequences as they have determined whether we are in reality ruled by the kingdom of God. We may think we are "serving" God, while unwittingly our service begins and ends in self-determinism; that is, we decide when, where, and how we "serve". The call of the kingdom is never convenient. We are being sifted every time there is a clash of loyalty between God and our money, God and our career, or God and our family.  This is not to say these things are not legitimate. However, it is to say that this will play out in small real life decisions, moment by moment, as to whether we will put the kingdom of God first - first in our affections, first in our relationships, first in our schedules, and first in our finances. The high call of God in Christ Jesus does not brook with competing loyalties. For the person who is seeking the kingdom these competing demands will be regularly denied. Others may, but you may not. The way into the kingdom is exceedingly narrow, and few are they who find it.

In the sorting there will be much movement as God's people are realigned. The decisions made in the sifting will determine alignment in the body. Previous loyalties and relationships in the body will come under much tension and even break as Christ marshals the troops in military order for war. Those who have refused to yield to God's authority in the body or in the competing demands of life will be taken out of the frontline. The Lord of the harvest will re-assign labourers according to their obedience in the sifting.

"October 8" -  The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) 2011

Returning to "October 8". On checking the Jewish calendar for 2011 I was amazed to discover that it is the date for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

This has great prophetic significance for the body of Christ in 2011.......

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