Seeing and responding to kairos moments

1. Seeing and responding tokairos moments Dynamic # 7

2. Chronos time and kairos time • Chronos – measured time • John 14:9 • Kairos – the ‘now’ time of opportunity • Mark 1:15 – “The time has come”

3. The Spirit waits for the word to be spoken • Thou from the firstWastpresent, and with mighty wings outspreadDove-like satst brooding over the vast AbyssAnd mad’st it pregnant • Milton, Paradise Lost • Yet nothing happened until the word was spoken • “Let there be light” • Genesis 1:3

4. The Spirit waits for the word to be spoken • Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus • John 11:1-7, 38-44 • Moses before the throne of Pharaoh • Exodus 7:19-20

5. Recognizing and responding to kairos moments

6. Kairosmoments… • In meetings • Prophetic words & opportune moments • In a global crisis • Prayer mobilized by the Spirit • In a traditional service • Worship as a response to the Spirit’s work

7. Kairos - a terrible responsibility! • Almighty God constrains himself to work with fallible humans in fulfilling his purposes • Not only do we take a risk of obeying • God also takes the risk of us disobeying !

8. Cultivating the Seventh Dynamic in the Congregation

9. Teach on kairos moments and provide discernment • An inner awareness of the Spirit’s presence • Stirring, stillness, quickening or sense of expectation. • Sense of sweetness, heaviness, or something like the lull before a thunderstorm. • An awareness that is hard to articulate, as if time is being touched with eternity. • A deep knowing that, “Now I, the Lord, am going to work!” • Mental image / awareness of the Spirit moving

10. Teach on kairos moments and provide discernment • Some will be aware of, and confirm, the Spirit’s presence and activity. • Subtle but noticeable signs that the Holy Spirit is present and moving • Keep eyes open (physical & spiritual) and observe • Someone will receive the word from the Holy Spirit • The next steps in the dance that we are called to take

11. Teach on kairos moments and provide discernment • Significant incidences will occur • The gift of kairos moments is given to those who are willing to act upon them • If we lose the will or faith to act then the opportunities dwindle and we become spiritually blind to them

12. Commit to obedience and grant others the right to discern and obey the moment • Determine in advance that you will be obedient • Give explicit permission for people to obey the Spirit • Not license, but liberty to follow the Spirit’s lead

13. Pray for God to advance his Kingdom • Kairos moments cannot be contrived or faked, but can be prayed for and welcomed • Beware focussing on exciting ‘events’ for spiritual entertainment – kairos moments are for a purpose

14. Pray for God to advance his Kingdom • The kairos moment… • “And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” • Acts 4:29-31, NET

15. Pray for God to advance his Kingdom • The obedient response… • They “began to speak the word of God courageously. The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.” • Acts 4:32-33, NET