Everything Has Its Time. and Your Time Is Drawing Near.

I believe that one of the things God placed on my heart to share with you is that we should rejoice in Him. My wife always tells me that life is short and that we have to enjoy it to the fullest. And, being very wise, I have learned to take that advice from my wife.

So, my brothers and sisters, I have wanted—and I understand that this is the desire of God’s heart—for us to enjoy every minute of this evening to the fullest. That is why we have been rejoicing from the very beginning. Every one of the songs we have been able to lift up before God. Being able to listen to Orlando and Vanessa ministering as well.

Look, and also being ministered to by Jessi and by the joy that pours out of every pore of his body. And I believe, my brothers and sisters, that all of this represents something of God, and how He delights in each one of us. How He delights in you. And as I meditated on a word for this evening, one of the things the Lord placed in my mind was this: It is all a matter of time.

Let me say it again: It is all a matter of time.

The seasons of the year mark a time. The clock is marking a time right now. The mere fact that you are sitting there right now marks a time. But the most beautiful thing of all is that, right now, we are in God’s time.

We are living in a time, a Kairos, so to speak. That Kairos means that God is acting with such intention that we cannot remain unaware of what He is doing in our midst. Things as simple and ordinary as shaking someone’s hand can be a divine appointment God is giving us. The mere fact that, at some point, we receive a call we were not expecting may be God’s time for your life or for the life of the person on the other end of the phone.

Look at this. Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, says the following, and those who are following along in English can follow me.

It says, “Everything has its time, and everything that is desired under the sun has... its hour.” Tell the person beside you, “Everything has its time. And your time is drawing near.” Look at what the biblical account says.

The biblical account says that there is a time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted. A time to destroy and a time to build. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to rejoice.

Actually, here it says there is a time to dance, right?

There is a time to scatter stones. And there is another time to gather those stones. There is a time to embrace. And there is a time to refrain from embracing. There is a time to seek. There is a time to lose. There is a time to keep things. And there is a time to throw those very things away. A time to tear things apart. And a time to put them back together. A time to remain silent. And a time to speak. A time to love. And a time to hate. Everything under the sun has its time. And we are in God’s time.

Look, I may keep repeating that. I am going to repeat this throughout the rest of the evening—in the few minutes that remain.

Look at this, my brothers and sisters: Living in God’s time is something that, again, we cannot overlook. It does not mean that we are simply going to live life from day to day. It means that every moment must be lived with intention. Even when I go to bed, I must do so with intention, because even in my sleep I may have an encounter with God, and I have to be attentive to that. And God wants, my brothers and sisters, to show each one of us new things. That is something we have been hearing for the past four or six months in this church: God wants to do something with us. Many of us have not experienced it yet.

But that time is drawing near, when we will be able to see God in our midst as we have never seen Him before. You know what? Many of us are going to begin to know God in many... new ways. Let me illustrate something for you. Pastor Greg, stay there.

There are times... when God is in front of you. And He is the one taking all the blows for you. Does anyone have a tomato or an egg over there that they can throw? Look, they’re not going to give me one! But at the same time, there is another time when God is behind you. He is pushing you and motivating you. And He is telling you, “Dare to do it. Do it now. I am directing you. I am guiding you. I am the one opening doors for you.”

And then there are other times when God is beside you.

Can I use your hand? Ah, there we go. And He puts His arm around you. And He says to you, “Don’t worry. Cry on My shoulder.” Perhaps we have experienced God in different ways. Some of us have been in that season when God is in front of us. Perhaps some of you are in the season when God is behind you, pushing you.

And it may be that some of you have God right beside you. But there is also a time when God is not there. Could you go to that corner, Greg? You can continue translating.

There are times when God is not there. You look for Him in front of you, behind you, beside you—and He is not there. And we usually call this time what? The wilderness. It is the time when we do not feel God. We feel abandoned. We believe that God has forgotten about us. But you know what? The truth is that God has not forgotten about us.

That wilderness serves a purpose, my brothers and sisters, and I believe this is something God has planted in my heart. We usually see the wilderness as something negative. But that wilderness is there so that you can internalize everything God did with you while He was in front of you, behind you and beside you. You need those times alone so you can digest things. If God is with you all the time, putting food into your mouth, you will never learn to pick it up and put it into your mouth yourself. Those are the times God uses to help you grow.

There are four times: God in front of you, God behind you, God beside you, and when God is not there.

Where do we find ourselves as we bring this year, 2009, to a close? Where have you been? Which time do you identify with? I believe, my brothers and sisters—and I do not want to say this redundantly, but at the same time I want to repeat it—that we are in a time of Emmanuel. On Wednesday, when we celebrated Christmas Day, that was part of the message I was able to share with you.

We are in a time of Emmanuel, God with us.

Last Sunday, Pastor Samuel also shared this message: what it means to live with that awareness that God is Emmanuel. That God is with us, that God is among us and that God is for us. And today, my brothers and sisters, I cannot help but say to each one of you: Emmanuel. God is with us. We are in a time, my brothers and sisters, like never before, when the presence of God is walking alongside each one of you.

It is as though we had that pillar of fire by night and that cloud shielding us from the sun during the day. We are living in those seasons when God will be opening paths before you. He will be taking all the blows because He will serve as a shield for your life. But as He serves as your shield, He will open doors for you.

And in the same way, He will be behind you, moving you, pushing you and encouraging you so that you can attain those things God has already won for you. God will be beside you to encourage you when you feel like crying, so that you can cry with Him and feel comforted.

And God will also bring that time when you will feel alone, and you know what? When you feel that way, I do not want you to come to us pastors saying, “Pastor, I feel that God has abandoned me.” When you feel that way, think about this: God wants you to internalize what He has shown you. Sow it in your heart. As this Scripture rightly says, there is a time for everything. And God has His times for you.

Times will come in 2010—mark my words. Times will come in 2010 when something new will be born. But at the same time, something will die. Times will come when you will have to sow, and the moment will come when you will be able to uproot what you have sown. The moment will come when you will be striving to gather those stones that have been scattered. But the moment will also come when you will have to scatter things in one way or another.

It is very interesting what Pastor Gilberto was saying a few minutes ago, because I also heard it on the radio this morning. I heard someone on the radio say that for this new year, we will have to forget the blessings God gave us last year. We must forget what lies behind so that we can enter this new year with a new expectation of what those blessings will be—the new blessings God will bring into our being. Those blessings God will bring into our entire lives.

Blessings that we will be able to share with others. Your time will come, my brother and my sister, when you will know God in a new light. And my prayer, the desire of my heart—and I understand that it is God’s desire as well—is that you may know Him in that way.

I would like to do something, my brothers and sisters. I have ten minutes left. Ten minutes, and I would like you to please stand. What I would like is for us to pray before—well, yes, if you can put the clock up there for me, great. Put up the clock for me.

I would like us to say a very special prayer. And if you are with a family member who is there near you, I encourage you to take hold of that person and come together in an embrace. If you are alone and there is a brother or sister in Christ beside you, I encourage you to draw near to that person as well.

And if you do not know anyone, then get to know someone in the family of Christ. And we are going to say this prayer, obviously without music, because I want the musicians to be with their families too. If you are watching us on the Internet, please take hold of your family as well.

And think about these words: “It is God’s time for my life. It is God’s time for my family. It is God’s time for this church. It is time to see new things. The time will come to lose things, but after those things, new ones will come. And all because it comes from God.”

If you are the head of your household—I am speaking to you fathers or husbands—I want you to bless your wife and your children. And may those wives receive that blessing. If you are there with your brothers or sisters, or if you are friends, take turns praying for one another, and ask that God’s time be fulfilled in that person’s life.

Lord Jesus, as a Church we come before You. We come before You as families. We come before You as brothers and sisters, as friends; we are part of Your family, part of Your body, Lord.

And, Father, at this moment, in a special, prophetic way, I declare Your blessing over all these people who are here tonight. Father, this year 2009—this year 2009 brought many things, took many things away, and we experienced various new things. And now we are heading into the year 2010, seeking what You have for us. Things eyes have not seen, things ears have not heard, things that have not entered the hearts of men but that are indeed in Your heart, that You have heard. Things that have come from Your mouth, that You are seeing right now. Those are the things toward which we are heading.

We turn our faces to You, Lord, and claim Your blessing over our lives, over our families, over this Church, over our jobs, over our neighborhoods, our community, this state of Massachusetts, the nation of the United States and the countries from which we come.

We say that it is Your time, that it is Your time, Lord. Be Emmanuel: God with us, God among us and God for us. Father, we declare Your blessing over Your people, Lord. New things happening in this new year, Jesus. To You we give the glory; to You we give the honor forever and ever. Amen and amen, Lord Jesus. Glory to You, Jesus.

Where is Jessie? Jessie got away from me. Bring your guitar, my brother. Jessie Jr., bring your beloved box. Do not sit down. Do not sit down.

This is the moment when I ask all of you who brought your New Year’s hats to put them on. The horns that can make noise, the glasses with lights that say “2010.” Because you know what? In the next minute we are going to sing again, Jessie. We are among those who believe that, with the power of God, it can be done. And since I know Jessie sings better than I do, I am going to give him the microphone.

Let us declare this. Let’s declare this before the Lord. One more time.

All right. I’ll let you know.

[Song]

Listen carefully: People are out there in the street getting drunk, but we have the new wine called “Jesus.”

[Song]

30 seconds... 30 seconds... How happy we are in the house of God!

Get ready, because this is about to get good.

9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Celebrate, come on.