The Appointed Time Is Now

Isaiah 55:6 states, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” The Amplified says, “Seek, inquire for, and require of the Lord while He may still be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Implying that there are times when the Lord may not be found, and also, when He is not responsive. But surely this is contradicts His promise to never leave you or forsake you! God’s word says there is an appointed time and there are appointed seasons. Exodus 9:5 declares, “Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, ‘Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land’.” Numbers 9:2 announces, “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed season.”

You’ll also find this confirmed in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2; “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted.” Everything has its proper time and cycle. Even your vision or dream cannot be fulfilled until an appointed time (Habakkuk 2:3). This is fact - this is a reality! But who sets the time?

When Jesus appeared to His disciples as recorded in Acts 1:7, He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” The Amplified says, “It is not for you to become acquainted with and know what time brings (the things and events of time and their definite periods), fixed years and critical seasons, which the Father has appointed and reserved by His own choice and authority and personal divine power.”

Note, the Lord did not correct His disciples for expecting His literal reign on earth. Such a hope was and is fully justified. He simply told them they could not know when His kingdom would come. The date had been fixed by the Father’s sole authority and He had not chosen to reveal it. It was information that belonged exclusively to Himself. He also declares that the kingdom is currently spiritual in its character, international in its membership, and gradual in its expansion and growth. However the kingdom is now!

The expression and phrase “times and seasons” is often used in the Bible to refer to various events foretold by God that are yet to come to pass. So let's examine the two Greek words that I believe are very significant within the context of this scripture.

The first is the word 'chronous' which is translated “times”, means a ‘duration of time’ (that which is the measure and quantity being referred to). The other Greek word is 'kairous', which is translated “seasons” and suggests a 'quality or characteristic possessed within a certain time frame'.

Broadly speaking, one word expresses the duration or measure of a period, and the other is marked by certain features or characteristics within a particular time frame. For instance, we are living in this time [chronous] the 21st Century; however, these times may produce for you a particular season [kairos]. That is, a specific “time-frame” characterised by special occasions, unique opportunities, or even the fulfilment of prophecy. 'Chronos' informs us as to the duration; measure or quantity of time, but 'kairos' tells us what particular happenings have occurred during a specified period.

So, it’s definitely not for you or I to know the times (duration, measure or quantity of any period) and seasons (the specific features, special happenings, unique characteristics of a time frame] that God has chosen to place exclusively under His authority and divine power. However, we must recognise that they exist – that God creates, permits and controls them.

Now ask yourself, “What times and seasons have I chosen to pay attention to in my life, or, what do I presently have anxiety over?” Are you living in the past or worried about the future? It does not mean just because there are times and seasons that you need to be preoccupied with them, or worry about them.

Let me explain. The Father has set within His own divine authority both the times - the measure, lengths and quantity of the periods - and, the seasons - the specific features and special happenings that are characterised in each era. Therefore, all times and seasons are under the divine authority of God and should be of no concern to us.

But how can we live without paying unnecessary attention to times and seasons? The answer is quite simple; we must all learn to apply the “Melchisedec Principle”. Melchisedec means 'King of Righteousness' and 'Priest of the Most High God'. He met Abraham in the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley, where He brought out bread and wine [and made covenant], then blessed His servant and received tithes from him.

The relation between Melchisedec and Christ as a “type” is made known in Hebrews 5, 6 & 7 and brings out the following actuality: Each was a high priest whose beginning and end are unknown; and, who has no beginning and has no end. The Order of Melchisedec has no time and therefore, it has no seasons either. I believe that the current priesthood is in the process of change. I am convinced that we must move away from the perspective of the past or future, or of times or seasons, to the perspective of the present.

God sees the end from the beginning, and all times and seasons He has set within His own divine authority. This is called the “Melchisedec Principle.” The Lord's royal priesthood is ever present and it is focused entirely on what God is doing right now. Why is this? It is because the Lord's ministry only flows in the present [never in the past or the future].

As a high priest also, your emphasis in life should be immediate – always focused on the present. There is something divinely powerful about the present – a NOW priesthood. This terrifies the devil and causes him to flee in every direction. Satan want’s you trapped in the past, or fearful of the future.

Our heavenly Father has placed the times and seasons, past and future, under His divine authority. Therefore, they should be of no concern to you any more. Being a faith God, He has sovereignly chosen to minister in the present – In the imperative – In the immediate. He is a NOW God, who will never leave us or forsake us. He continually ministers under the “Order of Melchisedec,” which is ever-present, and has no beginning and no end. His ministry is continuous (eternal), for no one will ever never find the beginning or see the end!

Let’s now go back to our opening scripture, Isaiah 55:6, “Seek, inquire for, and require of the Lord while He may still be found, call upon Him while He is near.”

When ever God sovereignly visits His people, when He chooses to invade their lives, the appointed time and special season is now! If you’re focusing on either the past or the future, or paying attention to them, you will miss God. God is moving, but He moves in the present! Therefore, if you are to “live and move, and have your being in Him,” you too must react in the present.

Seek and inquire of the Lord while He may be found (right here) – right now! Call upon Him while He is near (still present) – In our midst! Jesus said in John 5:19, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do (present tense); for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner (imperative tense).”

Jesus didn’t do what He “saw” (or had seen) the Father do, but what He “sees” the Father do. He also didn’t do whatever the Father “did’ (or had done), but rather, whatever He “does” Jesus does as well. If you want to experience God in a deeper and more profound way, you must learn to operate with Him in a similar fashion. There is always urgency about God. “Now faith is…”
We have been having a great visitation from the Lord (every week); however, we cannot focus on what He did last week, or even on what He is going to do later. We can only experience God in the “imperative present” – that’s right now! This is where true revival begins.

Chris Demetriou, 12/11/2006