Times and Seasons | Clip 1
Understanding Timing and Spiritual Success: The Essential Role of the Holy Spirit and Prophetic Ministry
Understanding the times and seasons is a vital spiritual responsibility placed upon the people of God. Just as Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for being unable to discern the signs of the times, believers must avoid spiritual ignorance regarding the appropriate time for action.
The book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, provides timeless wisdom regarding success in life, asserting that to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven. The success or failure of a person’s life largely depends on doing the right thing at the right time.
The Wisdom of Seasons: Ecclesiastes 3 Explained
Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 3, lists 14 pairs of opposites, emphasizing that for each of these actions, there is an appropriate time or season. It is crucial to recognize that it is not always right to do any one of these things; for instance, it is not always right to love, speak, sow, build up, or embrace.
These pairs of opposites include:
- A time to be born and a time to die (generally not under our control).
- A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted (applicable to farmers and others).
- A time to kill and a time to heal.
- A time to break down and a time to build up (applicable to the construction industry).
- A time to weep and a time to laugh.
- A time to mourn and a time to dance.
- A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together.
- A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.
- A time to get and a time to lose.
- A time to keep and a time to cast away.
- A time to rend and a time to sow.
- A time to keep silence and a time to speak (getting into trouble often results from speaking when silence is needed).
- A time to love and a time to hate.
- A time of war and a time of peace.
This wisdom applies to all human life and is also considered very sound business advice. Business, which the speaker learned is not solely for “crooks and sinners,” has been an exciting experience that offers extremely profitable lessons in the spiritual realm.
Regarding healing, the sources note that there is a mystery in healing and a specific time of healing. We cannot turn God’s healing power on to order; rather, we must adjust our schedule to coincide with God’s sovereign timing, as God is not going to adjust.
The Key to Timing: The Holy Spirit’s Direction
The key to knowing when it is right to do a certain thing—the crucial issue of life—is held by the Holy Spirit. Time itself is a mystery that will eventually be completed, leading to the end of time.
There is nothing in the Christian life that will operate without the Holy Spirit. Church history demonstrates that systems devised by men to function without the Holy Spirit have never succeeded.
The Holy Spirit as Administrator
The Holy Spirit is essential because He is the administrator of the entire wealth of God’s kingdom. While believers are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, receiving everything God has available in Christ, the administrator of that inheritance is the Holy Spirit.
The greatest mistake earnest Christians make is trying to make it through without the Holy Spirit. Though God forgives this error, He “never prospers us”. The Father and the Son are jealous of the reputation of the Holy Spirit; if you want to be blessed by the Father and the Son, you must make friends with the Holy Spirit.
The Prophetic Principle: Not by Might, But by Spirit
The absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit’s direction is affirmed through the vision given to the Prophet Zechariah (Chapter 4), concerning the rebuilding of the second temple. This vision—which often reappears in the book of Revelation—features a golden lampstand and two olive trees.
The angel speaking to Zechariah established a foundational principle:
“not by might not by power but by my spirit said the Lord of hosts”.
God will achieve what He wants done not by military might (the Hebrew word for “might” is army), nor by force, but by His Spirit. The results achieved in the kingdom of God that are enduring are ultimately achieved by the Spirit of the Lord. This truth ensures that mountains before Zerubbabel (the civil governor of the rebuilding effort) would become a plain, leveled by the Holy Spirit.
The Prophetic Ministry: Supplying Fresh Oil
The vision of the lampstand illustrates the function of the church: to give light. However, the lampstand requires olive oil (which invariably typifies the Holy Spirit) to give light.
In Zechariah’s vision, the olive oil is supplied directly from two olive trees standing on either side of the lampstand through golden pipes. The trees are identified as the “two anointed ones” (or “Sons of oil”) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
The Importance of Prophetic Vision
These olive trees represent the prophetic ministry and its input into the church. This ministry is necessary to continually receive fresh olive oil. The emphasis is on the freshness of the oil, as it is piped directly from the trees, bypassing the slow, natural process of trampling and squeezing.
Without this fresh oil, the church cannot function as God intended. The book of Proverbs states: “Where there is no vision [prophetic vision] the people perish”.
Religion alone is insufficient to keep God’s purposes moving. During the time of Eli, before Samuel, God’s people had the priesthood, the sacrifices, the tabernacle, and the law—everything religion offered—but because there was no open vision (no immediate, fresh, up-to-date prophetic revelation), the nation experienced backsliding, defeat, and decline.
Defining the Prophetic Ministry
The prophetic ministry is not merely standing up and saying, “thus said the Lord”. It is:
- Supplying the church with absolutely fresh oil.
- Providing a completely up-to-date understanding of what God is about now.
- Answering the crucial question: what should we do at this time (build, break down, mourn, dance, etc.)?
The ultimate definition of the prophetic ministry is the one “who stands in the presence of the Lord, hears his word and delivers it”.