“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected (finish my work). Nevertheless I must walk to day, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” (Luke 13:31-33 emphasis added).
The same passage from the New International Version reads;
“At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day–for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” (Luke 13:31-33 – NIV).
God has a goal for humanity and the earth that He seeks to accomplish within a certain timeframe. He is passionate about this goal. We should also be in pursuit of God’s goal and purpose, and an unveiling of it is needed so we can do our part in seeing it fulfilled. This goal is the reason for our existence and spiritual journey and walk with God. It all comes down to this!
As we come into the full understanding of the goal and purpose of God, we will begin to leave behind our programs and pursue a greater purpose in the Kingdom. Like the Samaritan woman who left behind her water pots to pursue a more satisfying well of living water, this pursuit will derive eternal value (John 4:1-30). Our personal vision outside the purpose of God is unprofitable and insignificant. This places demand upon our “personal ministry vision” and religious church programs to adjust to God’s vision and His Kingdom mandate.
Knowledge and understanding of God’s goal and purpose will assist us to align ourselves with His original intent for the Church. God lives in eternity [where there is no beginning and end], yet in His dealings with men He has limited Himself to a certain period in which He seek to accomplish His plan and purpose through man in the earth. He has limited Himself to seven days (7000 years). This is the period God intends to both begin and accomplish (finish) His goal in the Church and the earth.
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8).
“For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:4).
We need to understand the scriptures and the arithmetic of God. In the sight of God, 1000 years = 1 day and 1 day = 1000 years.
God’s original intent is contained in Genesis, because that is a prototype and pattern for now.
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 1:31 to 2:1-3).
The works of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth took six days to begin and accomplish (finish). On the seventh day, He rested from all His works. Note well, the seventh day was an eternal day of everlasting rest, because no night was recorded. It speaks of our eternal dwelling with the Lord in the city (New Earth) where there shall be no night (Revelation 21:25; 22:5).
God rested, not because He was weary, but because nothing formless, void or empty remained. His creative works were finished, totally effective and perfect. God is not intending to repeat, repair or reverse the deeds since creation. He wants to restore. God is more interested in restoring His order and pattern than in reviving things that are dead. In this new day, God is making all things new.
The Church must yearn, not for revival, but for restoration and ultimate reformation. We do not live only in the days of revival; we live in the days of restoration. There is a difference between “revival” and “restoration”.
To revive means to repair or give life, to bring back to life that which is dead. Revival has to do with those who are dead that need new life, the resurrection life offered by the Lord Jesus Christ.
To restore means to recover, or the idea of returning to the starting point. It comes from the Greek word “apokathistemi”, which means to reconstitute. This word is the heartbeat of apostolic reformation. It is not about revival, but restoration.
Many seek the old time revival in the Church yet it will not bring about the fullness of the purpose of God for now, because we are living in a new season and we need new technology that suits the present terrain.
Revival is not obsolete or archaic as the cry for revival is FROM the Church FOR the nations that do not know the Lord.
The Church is the instrument of God to bring forth restoration and finalization of the purpose of God in the earth.
Some may be satisfied with what was done before, but the present apostolic Church will seek after what God is doing. We are in a time of transition and all around us is change. We should be dissatisfied with what our grandparents had and cease to celebrate what God used to do so we can move on. This is a new season. The Church is changing. It is so because God is sovereign and does not need man’s permission or approval to move.
Genesis is a prototype of the present purpose of God. He has limited Himself to seven thousand years (7 days). In this period, God intends to begin and will accomplish His purpose in the earth. We need to determine our time in the calendar of God so we can access our works thus far in measurement to what He is doing.
A line must be drawn about teachings from science and eschatology about cosmetology and the age of the earth. If it is not the Word, then it is not of God.
Let us determine the age of the earth from the days of Adam from the Bible. Though we may not be very accurate with the dates, but from the chronology of scriptures it reveals that:
- The days of Adam to Abraham were about 2000 years (2 days)
- The days of Abraham to Jesus Christ were about 2000 years (2 days)
- The days from Jesus Christ to this present (21st Century) have been about 2000 years (2 days).
The above accounts for about 6000 years (6 days). This means that we are standing on the threshold of the end of the sixth day and the beginning of the seventh day.
In other words, we are living in the last day, a defining moment in God’s Kingdom. This is a kairos moment and incredible things will happen through greater release and performance of the purpose of God on the earth. A deeper level of revelation, understanding and relationship will see the Church fully matured. This will bring in the glory of God upon the earth. The ministry of revelation and glory is about to be unveiled and fully manifested in the earth.
Understand the principle of spiritual timing and recognize that we are living in a crucial moment of God’s kairos, the precise time when He steps in to fulfill His purpose. We stand on the threshold of the end of the age and the beginning of “The Day of the Lord”.
The world recognizes this timing and has adjusted the dates to what is known as AD, the Greek word “anon domino”, meaning “The Present Day of the Lord”.
We are about to step into the seventh day of eternal rest that is also referred to as the Third Day. Jesus spoke about this in Luke 13:31-33, a discussion that occurred four thousand years (the fourth day) after Adam.
The Lord Jesus, from the fourth day in His time spoke about reaching His goal, coming to perfection, completing, and finishing the work by the Third Day.
Four thousand years (4 days) had elapsed and three thousand years (3 days) remained to complete the seven thousand years (7 days) which is the period in which God intends to accomplish His purpose in the earth.
The Third Day refers to the remaining three thousand years (3 days) from the day of Jesus Christ when He was in the earth.
We are the Third Day Church but we have not yet entered into the fullness of the Third Day, the rest, maturity, completion and perfection. The third day will reveal a matured Church walking in the fullness of the Glory of God and will usher in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth.
Though we speak about the Third Day as the day of the Lord and us as the Third Day Church, the primary purpose is to understand both who we are in Christ and His goals for the Church and the earth.
What is the goal of God that He seeks to reach?
- God’s goal is that the gospel of the Kingdom is declared to all nations of the World (Matthew 25:14, Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 4:43).
- God’s goal is to reach the outcast in society and to bring them into His Kingdom (John 4:25-37).
- God’s goal is to finish the building of His house, so that His glory can dwell and abide. (He is seeking to dwell among His people). (Isaiah 66:1, Revelation 21:3).
- God’s goal is that the saints should take over every kingdom of the earth and manifest the Kingdom of God (Revelation 11:15, Daniel 2:44, Daniel 7:13-18).
- God’s goal is to undo all the works of the devil through a restored man standing in the earth. (I John 3:8, Isaiah 26:12-13;17-18).
- God desires that there should be a revealing of His glory upon the earth through an operational ministry of revelation and glory. (Habakkuk 2:14, Numbers 14:21).
- God seeks a generation that will finish His purpose and plan in the earth (Psalm 22:30-31).
The process of reviewing the Church’s goal to determine whether it aligns to the goal of God will result in adjustments. These adjustments in our plans, our mindsets and our programs will change our mission and model of ministry. Authentic apostolic ministry has a primary focus on the goal of the Kingdom of God.
Let’s briefly discuss some of the goals of God as stated above:
His goal is to reach the lost and outcast in society. In the main, the Church has lost the focus of reaching the outcast in society. This is evident in our surroundings, programs and choice of activities. The size of monuments and church buildings has been our focus, rather than the developing of an effective apostolic agenda to reach the outcast in society. The primary interest has become the money coming into the Church account and storehouse, rather than bringing souls into the Kingdom. We have lost the vision of the great commission and we are walking in great omission. Church has become about our own interests, needs and agendas, rather than the interests of God. The goal of God is that the outcast in society is reached. The great commission according to Matthew 28:19-20 is not an evangelical work, but it is an apostolic work.
“In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” (John 4:31-36)
The Samaritan woman was an outcast according to the custom of the Jews, but the goal of the Lord was to reach her and the Samaritan community. The Lord declared that He was sent “to do the will of him that sent me and to finish His work”.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit – (The name “Jesus”), teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 New Century Versions).
The Lord will not return until the purpose of God is established in the earth (Matthew 24:14). The Church must rise to her apostolic task and complete the commission to make disciples of all the nations and to teach them to observe Jesus’ commands.
The lack of understanding of the Kingdom message and the apostolic assignment, hinders the mandate. The responsibility to educate and accurately discern the assignment is upon the eldership of the Church so that we can become more accurate in the ways of God.
“I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever.” (Micah 4:7 NNAS 1995 Edition).
Where the message of the Kingdom of God is not taught, the people are set on the course of a sudden flight to heaven. For the last two thousand years (2 days) the Church has been characterized by this mentality, but we need to know that God’s goal is not just to heal the sick, cast out devils and then take His Church to heaven, even though this is part of the deal or benefit, but the primary ministry and focus is to preach and declare the Kingdom of God to the outcast and rejected in society. God wants His Kingdom to fill the earth. This is His Goal and intent for the Church.
He desires that there should be a revealing of His glory upon the earth – (The ministry of revelation and glory must be in full operation).
“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14).
“But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.” (Numbers 14:21).
The goal of God is for a revelation of His glory in the earth, even as the heaven is constantly declaring God’s glory.
“And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 40:5).
The glory of God is not a mist or smoke that is to cover the earth like a fog. The Hebrew word for “glory” is “kabod” which means weighty, splendour or copiousness. The glory that will cover the earth is the display of redeemed men and women. This will spread forth in every corner of the earth revealing the knowledge of God’s glory being manifested on the redeemed, and in the New Earth.
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Colossians 1:27).
“….for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:….” (1 Peter 4:14b).
The fullness of the earth is God’s glory that is manifested in His creation. God will redeem and restore the earth through a restored man standing that will deliver the earth from the corruption of bondage. God’s glory is about to invade the earth. His Kingdom will be established and it will declare and display the splendour of God’s weightiness.
“and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory” (Romans 9:23).
God seeks a generation that will finish His purpose and plan in the earth (Matthew 1:17, Psalm 22:30-31, Isaiah 53:8-10).
As I have said, one of the goals of God is that He is seeking for a generation that will finish His purpose and plan in the earth – This I believe is the “Missing Generation” in Matthew 1:17. The 42nd Generation after Jesus, which is called the CHRIST – “The Corporate Man, which is the many-member Body”. The 42nd Generation is not Jesus when you look at the genealogy of Jesus according to Mathew Chapter One. Jesus is the 41st Generation, but the 42nd Generation is called the “CHRIST”. We are the CHRIST of God to be manifested in the earth. We will come forth in the true image of God. The earnest expectation of creation is waiting for the CHRIST – “the manifest Sons of God” to be revealed that will deliver creation from bondage. There is a greater dept of revelation in this.
Copyright © 2017 by Israel Onoriobe
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