Life Walk Bible Lesson 13 — God’s Timing
Jesus took upon Himself our human condition, this Holy Cause, for which He lived to show us how to live. He embraced children, sent women with His word, touched lepers, and raised the dead long after it was thought possible. Jesus saved sinners, and rescued the condemned, walked on the waters of a hurricane, and grasped the storm in His hand, commanding it to be still.
And at the end of His day He said to His listening and very present Father, Who had turned His face as prophesied by Isaiah, for only a moment, “Into Your hands I commit My Spirit.”
In Christ, Paul said to us, we can “do all things” and Paul also recognized the wisdom of timing, and all things done in propriety, and integrity, before God and mankind. Jesus Himself grew in wisdom and stature before God and man. There is, therefore, a process to earthly and human maturity, and therefore God’s timing for His purpose through them.
One day, while listening to someone speaking, I was looking at him, and I saw something profound by the Holy Spirit. It was as though God had opened up, and pulled back, the flesh of the man’s chest. I saw in that vision what I would normally see inside a watch. I observed the movements of the tiny wheels inside, which interconnect so precisely with one another, so that the time-keeping function works perfectly.
I heard the Holy Spirit’s words through David, God’s king, that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
It is not to say that there is a machine inside, or that a human’s actions are mechanical in any way — please understand the metaphor — in that, a human is fearfully and wonderfully made by God’s design.
There is nothing random or without purpose, or directionless. We are held together with a word from God and a God-given function, and by this we live, and breath, and have our being.
A human being is intricately designed, and inherently gifted, with eternity in their hearts, and their “set time” is within them.
It is the devil who causes confusion in the hearts of those who feel as though they ought to have been born in a different time, or place, or whatever else they struggle with about themselves as a human being, which causes them to wish to be other than who they are — hence people struggle with weight, or beauty, or weakness and illness, or gender, or color of hair or skin. But God has taught us to love our neighbor, to love one another as ourselves.
It is necessary then for us to love ourselves the way God made us so that we do not judge how God made our neighbor.
All these things were precisely designed by God, so that we would look like Him, for He made us in His image, and likeness. This is what the devil seeks to steal, kill and destroy, along with every other creation God made for us to enjoy, as His children in heaven and on the earth.
For the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, in order to thwart God’s purpose for them, and keep them from it. But God rebukes the devourer, so that each person who gives themselves to God can receive the harvest for their seed sown, and that a thousand times over.
Jesus tells us that He and the Father are so One, and we who believe in God are so one with God, that nothing can take us out of His hand. We are firmly grasped in the hands of God, held close, and deeply loved by Him. We are shielded by His presence, and covered by His gracious glory, led by His Light, filled with His love, and warmed by His Spirit.
To wish for “The good old days” which were not so great for “them” then, just as our present is not what “they” imagined it to be, when desiring to be out of their current predicaments, in order to have a “better world” is not effective living.
The most exquisite watch did not come together haphazardly or by accident on an island beach somewhere, so it is true of human beings in Christ.
As the watch was made by the watch-maker according to the designer’s precise specifications, the human was made by the human-Maker, having designed and created humans to His very unique specifications, and those to be reproducible, according to the DNA blueprint God designed for each of them uniquely.
It seems, in our day, the common desire is to once again alter the blueprints of creation, according to human desire, and not God’s, just as it was in the days of Noah, which Jesus prophesied would come to pass once more.
Consequently, a genetically altered creation, for the profit of mankind, will not last because it has no seed in it, which was the original stipulation for that which we can eat, and by which we will be nourished and blessed.
There is nothing accidental about our person, our calling, or our placement in eternity, in order to carry out the will of God, His best for our lives. Jesus said, “Behold I come to do Your will; in the volume of the Book it is written of Me.”
So then there are many volumes, and many, many, billions of names written in what we know as “The Book of Life” from the beginning. And so is our God-given name, our purpose for being a human being in our time, and our timing in that tapestry of human history, in which we are “a stitch in time that saves nine” as they say — or however many we are given, just as Jesus was given twelve people to disciple, and send out into the world.
In the same way, someone with talent that they are using is given ten cities over which to reign as their reward. In maturity they rule their tongue and apply God’s wisdom and not their own human wisdom which has often failed humanity.
At the age of twelve, Jesus was well acquainted with His life’s purpose, confounding family and community alike, because by then He openly stood in His Father’s House, both on earth and in heaven, to do His will.
However, Jesus was also aware of His Father’s timing, so He stayed with His earthly parents until the time of His public appearing, around the age of thirty.
He did not come as our Warrior and Soldier in the Army of God, but as our High Priest, so He did not begin at age 20, according to the laws for the Israelite armies, but waited until He was 30, according to the laws for Priests.
In matters of State, there is a timing to all things, a protocol to coming before royalty, or Papacy, or even before a CEO of a Corporation — it must be by invitation, or appointment. In rare cases someone will dare to come without an invitation, or an appointment, when there is a pressing matter, as did Queen Esther in order to save her sphere of influence.
Jesus came to lift humanity’s burdens, and give us His Own, which is far lighter by comparison.What brings a man or woman into an “untimely” timing, then, but necessity?
For Jesus, it was water into wine; for David, it was Goliath. Elisha did not come outside to heal Naaman, but God respected the prophet’s word, just as Jesus spoke and the Centurion’s servant was healed, though they were in two different locations; and Esther came before the king uninvited, for the sake of her people, and God did great wonders for His people scattered throughout the 127 provinces of the king’s domain.
You have Already been Invited
We as believers in Jesus, and living in Christ, have been invited to come boldly before the King of kings, to ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us, because we have a personal relationship with Him. What amazing grace this is!
As kings and priests, we have been invited to stand in the heavenly Council, with our Elder Brother Jesus, along with Whom we are co-heirs of our Father’s Kingdom, to discuss matters of State with God, so that we can in turn prophesy them in the earth until they come to pass according to God’s will.
Stand, then, having done all to stand, resisting the devil so that he will flee from you, embracing your position in Christ, in His Kingdom, because you are made in the image of God. Wear the Armour of Light, God’s Own Armor, as Children of Light are admonished to do, and let there be light in your sphere of influence, to withstand the evil schemes of the devil, and establish the glorious Kingdom of God.
Wear Truth, Righteousness, the Preparation that has made you Ready to serve, Faith, Salvation, and God’s Own Word. Pray the word of God, and when necessary, call those things that are not as though they were, by faith in His will for you, just as He does. As a child of Abraham, the father of many nations, who stands in the Council Chamber with you, stand therefore, in the earth also, and receive all the promises made to Abraham because of God’s Love for all of us.
Be filled with the fruit of the Spirit within you, which causes you to be holy, and blameless before God, through His Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control, which are at work in, and through you, as fruit for nourishment to the nations, so that they may grow in wisdom and knowledge about our God, for His glory, reputation, and eternal purpose, which is to remove all evil, and bless the righteous who believe in Him.
We have learned from Ezekiel 31-33 that earthly and heavenly kings stand in the Council of God. We have learned that Jacob’s children, and the 12 Apostles are forever built into the very architecture of what God is doing, based upon Ezekiel’s writings, and the Apostle John’s writings, in Revelation 21, forever in the Presence of God.
We have learned from the Apostle Peter who quoted Scripture, reminding us that we are a Holy Nation unto God, and can come to see Him whenever we want or need, according to Paul, because we live a lifestyle of praying without ceasing.
The Next Easiest Step
Begin right where you are, doing what needs doing in your house, your family, your community, your sphere of influence, and your Church.
If you see a need, fill it. I have learned as I have grown older, it is not always as easy to do as we would like. It is not always acceptable to just fill a need because you see it exists. One often needs permission from someone else to do so, however when you can fill it, and it is in your power to do something for the betterment of a thing, do it to the best of your ability, with the agreement of those it will impact if necessary, so that they will know the love of God has touched them.
One of the decisions made with some agreement in the heavenly Council was:
Genesis 1:26 “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
Satan, of course as we know, disagreed with the plan of God, desiring instead to be God, and was thrown out of the Council, and out of heaven itself. Satan, the devil, and those who went with him, was thrown to earth to be subject to humans. For it is written, “I have given you authority to tread on scorpions and snakes.” That’s what God thinks of the devil.
The dominion God gave to humans includes ruling over God’s creation, with His wisdom, in order to take care of it, maintain it so that it prospers, even as God spoke over it to do. It is God’s job, initially, as described to Job in chapters 38-39, however God invites us to help Him wherever we live, to take care of our environment, our region, our territory, and sphere of influence as it relates to the animal and natural kingdoms.
The first instruction was to take care of the Garden of Eden, and to work the land. In John 15, we discover that the work is an on-going natural and spiritual work, and it is still the Father’s work, which He shares with us, for we share in His glory as believers, and citizens of His Kingdom.
One of the most powerful things I have learned at the feet of Jesus is that humans spend a lot of time on discovering how better to lead one another, when Jesus said He came to serve. So, start serving right where you are, doing the little things that matter to the people around you, and God will promote you in His best timing, for His best for your life, as part of the team-effort in the Kingdom of God.
Be Sensible
At one point in His ministry Jesus said to His brothers, “It is always time for you.”
Jesus knew the Father’s timing for Him, even during Holy time, as a Minister of God, and He came when they did not expect Him, for His Own safety. The pomp and circumstance and the consequential paparazzi of our times in which we live, which often comes with celebrity and position, was not His style. He came with one purpose — His Father’s will, and He was sensible about it.
God’s Will
It is sad to say, in our modern age, that when someone reads a Will, or Testament of Intent, which is written to give one’s heirs the inheritance of that person’s possessions or estate, that attention to that Will is far greater than what we have given to the Word of God, read to us as we stand in the heavenly Councils of God with Him. We have not realized the significance of it yet, or perhaps, we have become so familiar with it, so as not to recognize just how powerful it is for our benefit, and His glory.
Perhaps a re-igniting of the long-held passion in God’s heart will spark our own, and that moment in time, in His Presence, will bring a re-awakening of what God wants to happen, which has been expressed by every prophet, from Adam to Christ — God with us.
When Jesus died for us, and everything that was written against us under the Mosaic Law was nailed to the Cross with Him, the possibility of emancipation from slavery to sin, and death, was granted, and the terms of the New Creation were set in motion. We were given the Kingdom of God, by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, which is our Father’s great pleasure to do, as Paul says. For this joy set before Him, Jesus endured the Cross.
What time is it?
It’s time to worship God, accept His will, and live like the Kings and Priests He created us to be — in His image and likeness — and have the dominion granted us, on earth as it is in heaven.
When we entrust ourselves to God alone, and worship Him only, and not human wisdom, philosophy, or celebrity, He will tell us what He is doing, so that we can do what we see Him do, say what He tells us to say, and obtain the results He performs through us.
The Good News is Still Good News
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God really is about how good God is.
God sent His only Begotten Son, by the virgin Mary, to set the example of the heavenly Kingdom culture He has planned for earth, and He has grant us access to everything He has inherited.
In His earthly ministry, by His Grace, Jesus touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable, healed the incurable, delivered the undeliverable, and died for the incorrigible, so that we might all be saved from the kingdom of darkness, and be called His Children of Light, in the Family Kingdom of God.
Jesus, Son of God, in truth, gave us the gift of salvation, by His death for our sins on the Cross, so that we may come boldly before the Throne of God and speak with our Father in Heaven, even as Jesus Christ does, and ask for anything, and He will answer us by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, when we accept this gift of salvation, and accept Him as our Lord, and Savior, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Romans 11:33-36
33 “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!
34 Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? [Isaiah 40:13]
35 Who has ever given to God that God should repay them? [Job 41:11]
36 For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”
Pass it on.
