Appointed Times

Thank you for joining me today. I pray the Spirit of God will give you His revelation of the truth of His Word today. May you be guided and directed totally by the Spirit in the days to come. Eric

What I am sharing with you today has been birthed by my experience and the circumstances of my life at this time.

When I hear what the Lord is speaking to me today, the story of Joseph comes to mind. Joseph was given two dreams from the Lord. He was 17 years old and the fulfillment of those dreams took place 22 years later. Joseph had to hold on to those dreams despite whatever situation he found himself in. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, false accused by his master’s wife and thrown into prison until the appointed time when his God given purpose was established and revealed. (Genesis 37,39-47) Many prophetic dreams or visions do not come to pass immediately.

As with Joseph, I have also had numerous dreams and visions, which until this time have not been fulfilled. Even though the Lord spoke to me through those dreams and vision, some over 40 years ago. I certainly expected those revelations to be established long ago. I have had many unexpected experiences with the Lord since receiving those visions and dreams and have come to realize that as with Joseph, all of those experiences have been necessary to get me to a place where God’s work can be completed in me.

Also, just as Joseph held closely to those dreams until they were established, I believe God’s promise in His Word, which declares that He will complete in me what He has begun. Philippians 1:6 (ESV), “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word translated ’completion’ means to bring to an end, accomplish, perfect and execute.

Often times we do not fully understand what God speaks to us. I once received a prophetic word from a trusted man of God which said, “Your season is about to change.” I had no clear understanding of the span of time “about” represented. You see, Jesus encouraged His disciples when they were confused concerning what was happening. Things were not working out the way they envisioned it. They were not seeing God’s perspective because they were not able to. John 13:7 (NLT), “Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." In Isaiah 55:9b (NLT) the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said, ”my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” If we insert the meanings of the Hebrew words used in that verse, we could read this portion of this verse in this way, “My course of life, mode of action or undertakings are higher, taller, or more lofty than yours and My intentions, plans, imagination, and purposes are higher than yours,” God’s ways and thoughts are unfathomably beyond ours!

We know that quite often His plans are for a “future’ time. However, we expect and hope they will be fulfilled sooner rather than later. Then, when what we were expecting is delayed, we feel we must have ’missed it’ and not understood the Word we received or it really just isn’t going to happen. We in the Western World are an impatient people.

God told Abraham he would give him an heir. Twenty-five years passed before His son, Isaac was born. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when she gave birth to Isaac. Abraham waited twenty-five years for that promise to be fulfilled! You see, his son, Isaac was born at God’s appointed time!

Habakkuk 2:3 (ESV) reveals, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” The Hebrew word moed, translated ‘appointed’ means set time, or fixed time. The Hebrew word for vision means: oracle, prophecy, or a divine communication. If the Lord gives you a vision, this verse instructs us that the vision is for an appointed or set time, so, by our time standard, we might think it was slow in coming to fruition, however, the Lord encourages us to “wait for it for it will surely come.”

When you receive a word or vision from the Lord, you can be sure it will come to pass, for “all the promises of God are yes and in Him Amen” (so be it). 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV) Titus 1:20b (NKJV) reads, “…God, who cannot lie…”

Proverbs 11:18b (ESV), “..but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.” Do not ever give up and you will reap what you sow. Galatians 6:9 (CSB) reads, “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up.” Marshall Segal, managing editor at desiringGod.org, stated, “The patient continues to sow, even when the ground seems hard and the harvest uncertain, because they know they will eventually reap.”

Often times things are difficult, however, we need to continue to be “steadfast and immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58), partnering with Him and allowing Him to be responsible for the timing and results. Our part is to be obedient to do whatever He asks, then trust Him - no matter what.

Jesus told His disciples that the Father is always working in John 5:17b (NIV). “My father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” John Piper, chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, said, “God is always doing ten thousand things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.”

Throughout scripture, we are always being exhorted to have patience. Psalm 27:13 and 14 (NLT), “Yet I am confident I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. 14 Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” ‘Wait’ in verse 14, qavah in the Hebrew means to expect anything. We are to patiently expect the Lord to move. Romans 12:12 (NLT) exhorts us to “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” ‘Hope’, elpis in the Greek means to have a confident expectation of good.

Maybe it would be a good time for a ‘hope’ check? Do you operate with a sense of hope of doubt or defeat? Do you get discouraged when you don’t see immediate results, when your plans are interrupted, when you don’t see the results you desire?

Are you patient? I believe the hardest part of our surrender to God’s will is the patient waiting while His plan (which we often time, don’t comprehend), is being established.

At this time I am going to share some quotes of Marshall Segal. “Patience flows from a humble embrace of what we do not know and cannot control. It flows from our deep and abiding trust that God will follow through on His promises, however unlikely that may seem at the moment.” “The patient can wait and embrace inconvenience because whatever happens today or tomorrow, or next Tuesday, their treasure is unthreatened in heaven and therefore their joy is secure. Their happiness is not tied to their plans, so when their plans are disrupted their happiness holds and continues pouring over in love.” Then on the flip side, Mr. Segal stated, “Impatience grows out of our unwillingness to trust and submit to God’s timing for our lives.”

God’s timing is always a mystery to us. We always expect God to work out what He wants to do, while we are in our youth. However, for those who are in the older generation category, we have to realize that our age is not a hinderance to God’s plan and purpose for us!

The Apostle John was used in the greatest way in his old age when confined to a prison island where he penned the book of Revelation.

Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 when she had Isaac.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were old when their son, John the Baptist, was conceived.

Moses was 80 when he and his older brother, Aaron led the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 7:7).

In Hebrews 13:20 and 21 (ESV) we read, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” In verse 21, the Greek word, katartize, translated ‘equip’ means: to strengthen, perfect, complete, make one what he ought to be. Sometimes, that equipping process takes a lifetime. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT), “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. “

We rarely see a blueprint of what God’s plan is for us or what He has prepared for us. The end may be greater than the beginning.

Moses died in good health at the age of 120.

In spite of Abraham’s old age, he believed and it counted to him as righteousness.

Joseph hung on to the dreams that God had given him in spite of his trials and tribulations, then twenty-two years later, saw the fulfillment.

So, however long it takes for God’s promises to be fulfilled, He conpletes what He begins.

Be encouraged, never give up!

Keep doing what He gives you to do.

Keep on keeping on.

NLT New Living Translation

ESV English Standard Version

CSB Christian Standard Bible

NKJV New King James Version

NIV