God's Appointed Time in the New Biblical Decade

The following message is a summary of a sermon from Dutch Sheets which he preached on the occasion of the Biblical New Year 5780 at the ministry of Glory of Zion (note: Chuck D. Pierce).

The Year 5780, a Strategic Year

The next year will be one of the most significant and strategic years. It is a year in which it is crucial to be sober, to observe procedures and to hear exactly what God is saying because we are in a time of quick changes.

Herein is a great emphasis on the Word from Amos 9:13-15.
 
Amos 9:13-15:
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,” declares the Lord, who will do these things.
13 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,
14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
 
The biblical year 5780 is not a so-called ‘chrọnos time frame’, but a ‘kairọs moment’ which must be recognized in due time in order to act accordingly.
 
=> In the New Testament, time is categorized into different time characteristics. The first is the Greek word ‘chrọnos’, which refers to the general process of time or chronological time. The other characteristic of time is ‘kairọs’ and refers to the right time, the right moment, the right strategic time, the current time.
These two periods of time contain different phases of the same process. ‘kairọs’ is in many ways an extension or continuation of ‘chrọnos’. When the process unfolds from God's plan, ‘chrọnos’ becomes ‘kairọs’.
The new is connected with the old and is often the result of what has happened in the old. ‘kairọs’, the ideal time is literally born from ‘chrọnos’, the general time. When you are in a non-strategic general time phase of daily life and move forward in the time of ‘chrọnos’, God does not begin completely anew with a ‘kairọs’ time. His agenda does not change. He leads through the phase of a process in which the perseverance and fidelity of a person allows God to move that person into the next phase, which is a strategic time phase.
He changes the time as well as the time phase and transforms ‘chrọnos’ into ‘kairọs’.
Another characteristic of time is ‘pēlrọō’, which means the fullness of time (see Galatians 4:4). This fulfillment contains something to complete or accomplish entirely.
While ‘kairọs’ offers the opportunity to accomplish a task or bear fruit, ‘plērọō’ means that it has already been accomplished. This is synonymous with the process of the birth of children.
After conception, a woman goes through all three stages of time: ‘chrọnos, kairọs and plērōma’.
For nine months, the woman goes through the challenging but important phase of development during the ‘chrọnos’ period. Much happens in the hidden place of the womb, but the woman cannot yet hold her child in her hands or enjoy the fruit she knows is coming. Then the pregnant woman enters into the ‘kairọs’ time of the contractions and the birth. She has not yet reached the end of her fullness, but she is about to enter. This ‘kairọs’-time is however very difficult and dangerous. The opportunity to give birth does not have to guarantee success. To reach the birth stage, the woman must go through much physical effort, pain and pressure necessary to receive the fullness of the fruit. Finally, the woman goes through the ‘kairọs’ time phase and then enters the ‘plērōma’ stage of abundance associated with the birth of the child. <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is an analogous excerpt from the book ‘God's Timing for Your Life’ by Dutch Sheets, Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2001, pp. 26-27).
 
If you are in a ‘chrọnos phase’, it may occasionally feel like nothing is happening or you feel like you got stuck, which is not the case. A ‘chrọnos phase’ includes the time of preparation.
 
1. The Time of Acceleration
 
In connection with the new biblical decade of ‘Pe’ (note: The biblical year 5780 has heralded the decade of ‘Pe’.), there is also an important significance on the passage from Daniel 2:20b-22.
 
Daniel 2:20b-22:
… 20b “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
 
We have arrived at an appointed time by God where great and sudden changes are emerging. During this phase it is important to be flexible and fluent (in the form of competent). Therefore, it is important to get to a flexible place with the Lord in order to be able to move forward with the Lord quickly and dexterously.
 
The acceleration will take place at high speed, so that it is necessary to reflect on the given strategy of God during the acceleration process and what to do while moving forward with the Lord.
  • The Lord takes us out of our comfort zone and brings acceleration and sudden changes. Therefore we should prepare ourselves to quickly enter the change in the spirit.

  • In addition, the Lord is changing some of our schedules and projects. This will lead us into the phase of expansion that is needed. As we move forward, we should cultivate the things that the Lord gives into our hearts.

  • Furthermore, the Lord surprises us with sudden assignments that we did not know we were meant to do.

2. The Harvest is Coming, and the Kingdom of God will Manifest Itself on Earth in Incredible Ways.
  • There will be an amazing change and a special spiritual warfare associated with incredible victory (see Ephesians 6:12).

  • The Lord will involve us in these matters and we will be surprised by sudden commissions.

This is about the gospel of the Kingdom of God including the dominion of God instead of merely the gospel of salvation. God's good news has unfortunately been reduced in the past to the ‘gospel of salvation’. However, the gospel of salvation is only the point of entry into the Kingdom. The gospel of the Kingdom includes the dominion of the king. And it is the authority of the Kingdom of God to rule and lead. – It is God's intention that the victory of His Kingdom should be seen through His people on earth. This visibility of victory will affect all levels of society, not only personal but also entrepreneurial. All cultures, societies and nations will be touched. The gospel of salvation is a thorn in Satan's eye and he even trembles at the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
  • It is the Kingdom power of God that manifests itself over a continuous period of time through signs and wonders of the Kingdom on earth, as it has been appointed in heaven. As a result, the nations will be positively shaken!

  • It should be noted that Jesus Christ did not preach the gospel of salvation in the first place, but the gospel of the Kingdom, which includes repentance and not ‘only’ the message of love of Jesus Christ or the Heavenly Father (see Matthew 4:17).

Matthew 4:17:
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
 
This leads to the time when there will be more people saved by the gospel of the Kingdom than by the gospel of salvation. Though this may sound confusing to some believers, God will take care of these persons.
  • The Kingdom of God includes the dominion of God, with the ‘Church – ekklēsịa’ being part of it and not the other way around. (note: Jesus Christ brought the ‘church – ekklēsịa’ to birth on the cross through His side in order to preach the Kingdom; see John 19:33-34).

  • This knowledge will increase, but it will certainly come along with spiritual warfare.

3. God is Working on the Reworking of the Old Wineskins.
  • God is in the process of reworking the old wine skins through the influence of wisdom and today's revelatory truth (note: revelation). This happens on a personal as well as a common level.

  • For this He takes the old wineskins and combines them with wisdom and today's revelatory truth. It is important to apply the wisdom of what God has spoken to you in the past and at the same time to be careful not to get stuck in what the Lord spoke ten years ago.

  • One can be influenced by the revelation and things the Lord did in the past, but one should apply God's revelatory truth for that time and pay attention to what He is speaking at this time. It is important to allow the Holy Spirit to renew our wineskin where it is necessary. Otherwise one will not be able to keep the new wine (see Mark 2:22).

  • Since the LORD comes with fresh, new wine, we should use and listen to the wisdom of the old and pay attention to His revelatory truth today.

  • The transformation of the wine skins will be much greater than what we saw in the last movements 40 years ago.

  • The Holy Spirit is tired of being put into boxes by believers.

  • He will not stay there nor be imprisoned by human reason. Therefore, we should allow the Holy Spirit to build us up and let us walk more spirit-filled.

  • At this time, Paul's prayer, which he prayed for the Ephesians by asking for them to be filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation, becomes more crucial (see Ephesians 1:17). Here the Lord will reveal to His people how to dance the daily dance of wisdom and revelation.

  • It is the time of the highest level of prophetic anointing of wisdom and revelation that leads to the full equipping in order to reveal the power of the Kingdom.

  • The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and revelation, so it is necessary that we obey and listen to Him daily as we move forward and begin to preach from the ‘river’.

  • GOD is tired of being reduced to Sunday worship service and also that the movement of His Spirit is put into a set schedule or programs.

  • Signs and miracles have an important component in the Kingdom of God, so it is important to be open to them and welcome them (see John 10:38).

  • At this time the Holy Spirit emphasizes the ‘watchman’ or rather His task, because it is a matter of observing things from the walls and listening carefully (see Song of Songs 3:3-4 i.c.w. Isaiah 62:6-7). God will use this to bring us as His people to the next stage of destination.

Amen and Amen.