While praying about the lack of power in the Church, God spoke to me, “Too many I have called out, go out, before they’ve been sent out. This has caused My apostolic power to be delayed, diminished, and dwarfed.”

There is a hunger, not only in the Church but in the world, to see God move in miraculous powers. Yet in our day in America any demonstrations of God’s miraculous apostolic power are little and limited. In order to bring in the end-times harvest, the Church is going to have to start moving in apostolic authority and power. As the apostles went out to birth the Church, miraculous signs and wonders followed the preaching of the gospel. As the end of the age unfolds, we will see even greater miracles than those of the early Church.

In our day, many believers who have genuine callings upon their lives, fail to make the choice to wait for God’s timing. Jesus told us that “… many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). Many going forth to minister in the name of Jesus have bypassed waiting for His apostolic “Seal of Approval,” settling instead for having a calling and sensing a need.

Kairos Not Chronos
One reason for this is that as humans we are so aware of chronological time. We have calendars on our walls, watches on our wrists, and time-planners in our pockets. It is becoming more and more difficult to find anywhere in our culture where you might not be able to know exactly what the time and date is. The Greek word for this type of time is “chronos,” which means “a space of time, a fixed measurement of time in hours, days, months, years, etc.” Because of our obsession with “chronos” time, when the Lord gives us a prophetic promise of how He wants to use us, we start the timer running and immediately believe that the timing is now — if not sooner! We easily get frustrated when others don’t come alongside us and things don’t instantly break loose.

Instead of focusing on how long something is taking (“it has been three years since we were called to ministry”), we need to seek diligently for God’s “kairos” time. The Greek word “kairos” means “a set time, a proper time.” God not only has a specific calling for you, He has a specific timing for it to be released. Whether we are talking about a baseball batter’s swing, the release of a new business product, words of encouragement, or the launch of a new ministry, timing is critically important. “When?” is much more important than “How long?”

Many with legitimate giftings and callings to serve the Lord have diminished His ability to flow through them in power by going out before God is ready to send them out. Sometimes there are character issues that need to be dealt with, or perhaps the Lord is just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place.

The word “apostle” means “sent out one.” Apostolic power comes to those who are “sent out,” not just those with a calling who decide to “go out” and do the work. To be sent out from a church means that you have had things confirmed and been accountable to those in authority in that body of believers — you have received not only the “yes of calling,” but the “yes of timing.” This is the sort of launching out that will be protected and blessed by the Lord. Those who have truly been sent out will find the Lord their Provision and their Guide. They will do the work He has called them to, and miraculous signs will follow. The Lord will never fail to back up those whom He has truly sent out.