6/19/2022
In John 7, Jesus was confronted by His brothers about going to Jerusalem. Their motives were definitely not pure, but that is not my focus here. In verse 1, it says that Jesus was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. In verse 6 He says, “My time is not yet here,” and in verse 8, he says, “I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
Timing is important to God. Scripture says that “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3) In the Old Testament the Sons of Issachar were said to be “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do.” (1 Chronicles 12:32)
Concerning this issue of timing, in John 7 it says Jesus was not willing to go down to Judea. Two reasons were given. The first reason stated in verse 1 is that He knew the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Reason #1 was based on reason #2 stated in verse 6 and repeated in verse 8—He knew “His time had not yet fully come.”
Now look at John 13:1. By this time, Jesus had told His disciples what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem. He knew full well the Jews were still wanting to kill him. He knew He would be betrayed, face the stripes by which we are healed and the cross through which our salvation would come. At this point, He knew His time had now fully come. He was ready and willing, He “endured the cross, despised the shame.” It was time!
Here is my summary: When it is not “the right time”, we can “play it safe,” as Jesus chose not to go to dangerous Jerusalem. However, when He knew the time was right, Jesus was “all in!” When it was the fullness of time, when the time was “now” even though He knew the danger had increased, knowing He was to be tortured and killed, He was fully ready to go.
The application to our current situation: During “normal” times, it is fine to go about life normally. Pastors can preach normal sermons and churches can have normal activities. Businesses can buy, sell, trade, hire, fire and grow normally. Families can do all the normal activities of school, work, vacation, move and live life.
But we are not living in “normal” times! Globalists. Deep State. Critical Race Theory. LGBTQ radicalism. Wokeism. “Science” that is actually anti-science. Covid lockdowns and lies. Election Fraud. Fentanyl. Child trafficking. Abortion. The attack on gender identity. Riots. Calling evil good and good evil. Perverted justice. Fake news. Etc…
I believe, for the church—the Ekklesia—it is the fullness of time! Just as Jesus could “play it safe” while it was not yet time, so could the church. So could Pastors. But when His time had fully come, Jesus willingly went to where it was not safe because He could not accomplish God’s will and work from a position of safety or comfort. Now neither can His church or His pastors or individual Christians. A shift is taking place in the timing of God and we all must shift with Him. We must go all in for the Kingdom of God.
We must preach the Gospel of the Kingdom – the Good News of the Kingdom. Preach it whether people like it or not. Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom is preaching the Good News of what it means to bring everything under the Lordship of Christ and calling people to embrace that. What advances God’s Kingdom in someone’s life or in the life of a nation, it is good. Anything that goes contrary to God’s will and God’s Kingdom is harmful or bad for a person or a nation.
A quote from Martin Luther is very relevant here: “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”
Many pastors and church members have embraced the false concept of separation of church and state, feeling there are some topics that they should not bring up, no matter how much it might be “that little point which the world and the Devil are” at this moment attacking. We can no longer do that at this fullness of time. Applying the Kingdom of God to a particular “hot button” issue may indeed cause problems in your church. However, you can be assured that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you become spiritually bruised, that bruising will be result in healing of others. If you are crucified, you will experience resurrection!
Let us all embrace the timing of God and go forth in power. In 1 Corinthians 4:29 Paul says the Kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power. In 1 Corinthians 2:4 Paul said his message and preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power so that their faith would not rest on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God.
I speak the Lord’s blessing over you. I declare that God’s word in you and through you would be a sharp two-edged sword, piercing darkness and becoming a river of life.
Comments