Yes, here is another very long post from me.  If you don’t have time to read it but it may prove to be very encouraging if you do.  I know it was for me.  Oh, yeah and there is another post from “last night” at the end of all this.  Just in case you wanted to know.

Ashley

P.S. I’m hiding from my exams in my picture.  =)

Appointed Times

In spite of escalating turmoil in our world, there still remains one last, great outpouring of mercy before the time of the end (Matthew 24:14; Acts 2:17). This supernatural season is not something for which we must beg God. No, its coming has been predetermined. It is the “appointed time” of the Lord.

For those unaware, an “appointed time” is, in truth, an open display of the sovereignty and power of God. In it, we discover with absolute certainty that nothing is impossible for God. It is a season when God fulfills the hopes and dreams of His people. The Psalmist wrote, “But You, O LORD, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. You will arise and have compassion on Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come” (Psalm 102:12-13).

During an “appointed time,” it’s as though the Lord physically rises and moves in unfailing compassion on behalf of His people. It is the time when divine promises, dreams, and spiritual hopes are fulfilled. Recall: Abraham and Sarah had waited in faith for a quarter century for the promise of God. Finally, as they neared one hundred years of age, the Lord told Abraham, “At the appointed time I will return to you . . . and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:14). One year later, “at the appointed time” (Genesis 21:2), Isaac was born to aged parents!

While there are, indeed, appointed times of judgment (Mark 13:33), the phrase most frequently represents a time, preset by God, when He invades mankind with “. . . wonders, plans formed long ago, [that unfold] with perfect faithfulness” (Isaiah 25:1).

Demons may stand arrayed against the Lord; nations may align themselves to fight Him. It does not matter. He who sits in the heavens laughs. For He makes all things His servants (Ps 119:91), even His enemies’ plans for evil are reversed and made to serve the purpose of God (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28; Acts 2:22-24).

If God gave you a vision, a spiritual hope or dream for your future, there will be an appointed time when that which God spoke comes to pass. Thus the Lord assures us, “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time. It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:2-3).

If you have a vision or promise from God, that vision also has a time of fulfillment. Though it tarries, wait for it. For it will certainly come to pass at the appointed time.


Appointed Servants of God

Prior to the unveiling of an appointed time, God has, of course, been actively working in hiddeness. When He rises and moves, He is moving the power grid He laid in secret. The work manifests suddenly, but the preparation may have taken years. Likewise, the Lord also appoints people. He predestines the time of their breakthrough in advance, even as He works silently within their hearts in preparation.

Consider the Lord’s word to His disciples. He said:

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.” —John 15:16

I’m sure the disciples felt that they had chosen Christ. Yet, the deeper truth is that God chose us before the foundation of the world and predestined us to come to Christ (Ephesians 1:3-5). We could not even come to Christ had not the Father drawn us (John 6:44). So, let us make no mistake: God chose us. Yet, He who chose us also appointed us to bear fruit. The same power that worked in us to surrender and then inspired our faith continues to work in our hearts throughout our days, appointing us to bear fruit.

You may look at your life and feel unfruitful, but God is not done with you yet. Do you believe God has chosen you? Then believe also that He has appointed you to bear fruit. The same power that drew you to Christ is now working to conform you to Him as well.


The Enemy’s Work

One may argue, “But I know people who were good Christians who have fallen away.” Yes, but in most cases you will find that, at some point, they fell into deep disappointment about some failed, spiritual expectation. Disappointment is not just a sad, emotional state of mind; deep disappointment actually can sever our hearts from faith. It can “dis-appoint” us from our appointed destiny.

I have known many who were doing well, moving toward their appointed destiny. The future God had for them seemed almost close enough to taste. Then, they became disappointed in someone or something. By accepting dis-appointment into their spirits, a bitter, cold winter took over their souls, and their faith turned dormant.

When one is dis-appointed, he is cut off from his appointment with destiny. The appointment remains in the heart of God, but the individual is isolated. It is here, even in the throes of disappointment, that the righteous must learn to live by faith (see Habakkuk 2:1-4).

I, too, have been through disappointment. Indeed, the promise of God was so distant that it seemed like a foolish spiritual fantasy. For nearly three years, I had not been involved in pastoral ministry. No doors would open. God was doing a work in my soul to cause me to trust Him, but I felt abandoned and cut off from my calling. In a moment of abject honesty, I prayed, “Lord, you promised that those who believed in You would not be disappointed. Master, You know all things. Look at my heart. I am full of disappointment.”

The Lord simply replied, “You’re life is not over.” Of course, I knew that. I was a healthy, young man not older than forty. Yet, the spell of disappointment had flooded my soul with darkness, causing me to conclude erroneously that God was done with me.

Listen well my friend: satan can stop our destiny if we accept the power of disappointment into our lives. Once we accept the heaviness of a deep dis-appointment, backsliding is often not far away. You see, dis-appointment cuts us off from our vision, and without a vision, people perish.

Therefore, let me ask you: are you carrying disappointment in your heart? Renounce it. Forgive those who have let you down. Have you personally or morally failed? Repent deeply and return to your Redeemer. Right now, I ask the Holy Spirit to remove disappointment’s paralyzing sting! Beloved, the Spirit of God has come to release you of the effect of the dis-appointment. He reminds you, “Your appointment with your destiny is still set.”

Holy Spirit, I confess that disappointment has crept into my soul. I forgive those who have disappointed me and release them back to You. I also forgive myself for accepting disappointment. I renounce unbelief and submit again to Your call on my life. Lord, prepare me again to move into the future You have appointed for my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Francis Frangipane