Page 1 of 11 How To Discern Times and Seasons Webinar by Jamie Rohrbaugh Study Notes The difference between times and seasons: Seasons in the spiritual realm are a lot like they are in the natural realm. In the natural realm, depending on where you live, we have spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each person experiences the same things at the same time: cold in the winter; heat in the summer; rain at the same time; drought at the same time. In the spiritual realm, seasons impact the Body of Christ the same way. Seasons stretch across the Body. God moves seasonally, and He does the same thing for the whole Body at the same time. He moves the same way in hearts; brings similar types of blessings; and pours out similar revelation. o That s why we saw a great revelation of fasting across the Body as a whole in the 1940s. o That s why, over the decades, we have had renewals of revelation about evangelism, the apostolic, the prophetic, and more. o These things have come in waves because God works seasonally, and those revelations were manifestations of the seasons God s people were in at those times. Timing is different. Timing is about knowing if something is the right thing for today, or for tomorrow, or for 5 years from now. Timing is about knowing what to do and when to do it. So seasons are more spiritually-focused and Spirit-driven, whereas timing is really about boots on the ground. Both can be discerned using the same processes, but just know that there are differences between the two. 1. The anointing of the sons of Issachar: The sons of Issachar: They studied the movements of the stars and planets and understood chronological time. They were responsible for calling the whole nation together when the stars aligned, literally. (The Jewish feast days are approximately based upon the lunar calendar, with consideration also given to the movement of the sun. The nation had to gather to worship God on specific days on this heavenly calendar.) When signs and wonders happened in the heavens (with the sun, moon, stars, etc), the sons of Issachar knew how to interpret the meaning of those events. The sons of Issachar understood chronological time, but they also understood spiritual and political time. The sons of Issachar could discern what God was doing and when He was doing it.
Page 2 of 11 They knew when one move of God was ending and another one was beginning. They could discern when a leader was falling and another leader was rising. They could even tell you who the next leader should be. They knew who to follow and when to follow him or her. Not only that, but the sons of Issachar also excelled in knowledge of God s law. They were full of wisdom. In fact, God chose the sons of Issachar as one of the three tribes to go out in front of Israel whenever the nation moved. Judah (the praising people) went first; then Issachar (the wise and discerning ones) and Zebulun (the financiers). That s quite a combination!* The sons of Issachar were so sharp, and so spiritually astute, that the whole nation depended on them to know what they ought to do and when they ought to do it. First Chronicles 12:32 tells us: of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command (1 Chronicles 12:32). Look at these examples of how astute the sons of Issachar were: 1. They supported a female ruler when it may not have been popular. In the times when Israel was governed by judges, before it had kings (around 1100 BC or earlier according to some scholars), a woman rose up to judge the land. Her name was Deborah. Although women did have rights in Israel, it would still have been unusual for a woman to sit in authority over the nation. Nevertheless, God was with Deborah. He placed her in authority, and the sons of Issachar knew it. Therefore, they sided with Deborah and went out to battle under her leadership. Pretty gutsy move! Why did they do it? Because they could discern the times and seasons, and they knew God s hand was on her and it was her time to rule. They gained a great victory and freed the land from foreign rule as a result. (Read Judges chapter 5 for more.) 2. They supported King David before he became king when he was NOT popular with King Saul, who was in power at the time. Before King David the 2nd king of Israel began to reign, warriors from the 12 tribes started gathering to him. All the tribes were split in their support of David except for one tribe. The tribe of Issachar was united in their support of David, according to the passage quoted above from 1 Chronicles 12:32. Why did all Issachar support David? Because they knew that God had called him to become king, and they knew that his time had come. They could discern the changing of the times. It
Page 3 of 11 worked out well, too. David became the next king, and remains the most famous king of Israel in all history to this day. The sons of Issachar had something special. Their ability to discern the times and seasons was an incredible advantage: That ability gave them inside knowledge and understanding of God s activities. They were not taken by surprise when things happened. They had influence as a result of their unique ability to understand times and seasons. They knew what Israel should do and when it should be done. The nation followed their example. The good news is: You and I can have the anointing of the sons of Issachar! We can have the same ability to discern the times and seasons! I first heard about the sons of Issachar about ten years ago, and I began praying for their ability (a.k.a. their anointing or gifting) right away. I can t tell you how many times since then God has allowed me to discern times and seasons. There have been a number of times when I ve felt the spiritual season shift and I don t mean slowly over time, either. For example: On May 25, 2014, I walked back into my house after the tattoo convention, and standing in my kitchen I felt the seasons change. I heard God say to me, You have entered into a new season, and I literally felt one door of time close, and another door of time open. It was that quick, and that literal and it was confirmed later by this word from Doug Addison. The events that followed proved that, sure enough, it was a new season. It contained a dramatic move of God in ways I haven t talked about yet publicly. That new season was shorter than I expected it to be. After a few weeks, I started seeing the numbers 11:11 everywhere. The number 11 means prophetic or a transition, and doubled numbers mean God s established event. When I started seeing 11:11, God told me the season had changed again and again, the events that have occurred in the last week have heralded the start of a new season. Here s how you can obtain the anointing of the sons of Issachar: 1. Recognize that God is no respecter of persons. Romans 2:11 says, For there is no partiality with God. Acts 10:34 tells us, Then Peter opened his mouth and said: In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. If God gave the sons of Issachar a special spiritual ability, He s willing to give you and me the same ability.
Page 4 of 11 2. Know that, in Christ Jesus, all the blessings God gave Abraham (and his descendants, the Jews) also belong to you. Galatians 3:9 tells us: So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Galatians 3:13-14 says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree ), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Because we are adopted into God s family through Christ, we are entitled to all the blessings of Abraham. So now that you know you can have whatever God gave the Jews, you have only to 3. Ask. Ask God for the anointing of the sons of Issachar. Ask Him to give you the ability to discern the times and seasons and always know what to do. All of God s promises are available to us. All we have to do is ask! 4. After you ask, start paying attention. When you feel like something new is about to happen When you feel reluctant to make a certain decision just yet because you feel like it isn t quite time When you feel like you shouldn t take on anything new right now, because you feel like a new door is about to open When God leads you to stand for something or someone that is Biblically supported, but isn t popular When God starts to give you influence, and people follow your example That is the anointing of the sons of Issachar at work in you! 2. How to discern changes in spiritual atmosphere that indicate the start of a new season: Discerning seasons is a process that requires hearing God, paying attention to spiritual atmosphere, and studying into God s rhema Word to see what He is saying. o Sometimes you arrive at the conclusion that it s a new season simply by seeing that God is doing a new thing! o Sometimes you hear Him tell you that He s doing something new, and then you can deduce from that that it s a new season. Example: If God suddenly starts emphasizing Isaiah 43:18-19 in your devotional time! Do not remember the former things,
Page 5 of 11 Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18-19). o Other times you hear God tell you first that it s a new season, and then you have to study into it to find out what this new season will look like! Only after that do you start seeing Him do a new thing. o Any way He chooses to talk to you about this, the same Scriptures are true: Proverbs 25:2: It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. And Amos 3:7: Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Feeling a new season start or an old season end should never be the only factor you use to discern seasons. However, it can be an important part of the overall picture. o How a new season feels: o Think about what it feels like to walk out of a building that s climate-controlled into a temperature change. Either your house is warm and it s cold outside OR it s cold inside and warmer outside. o That is exactly what a spiritual season change feels like to your spirit. o You could also compare it to swimming in one river and having someone suddenly jerk you out of that river and toss you into another river. The second river is a different color; different temperature; and is flowing at a different rate. Even the water may smell different! o You suddenly sense that the old has passed away. o There s a feeling that you ve suddenly put the past behind you. o There s often a fresh excitement in your heart. o Things that used to discourage you even as recently as yesterday no longer discourage you today. o God starts talking to you about things today that He wasn t talking about yesterday. o The prophets may be prophesying about a change in seasons, but you can feel the change in season BEFORE you hear about it from others. o Odds are, you ve felt the change in spiritual seasons before. When God speaks to one person in His Body, He speaks to everyone. But we don t all always have our ears tuned in to listen to Him very closely; to pay attention. However, IF we pay attention, we do hear! Jesus said My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (John 10:27). 3. How to pull things into the current time that were originally intended for a future time:
Page 6 of 11 God does accelerate things sometimes. Sometimes He does so at His own sovereign will, and sometimes He does so because we bend His will. God s sovereign IS bendable. He listens to us and cares about His people. I heard Pastor Judy Jacobs prophesy a couple of days ago that this month of May is a time of miracles and manifestation. She said we should ask of God: May I receive now? And He is saying YES! But even in the future, you need to know that God s original plan is subject to our prayers, petitions, requests, and intercessions. He gives us leeway to hunger and thirst, and He loves to answer our requests. God s will is bendable: That s why Moses was able to intercede for the Israelites before God when God expressly told him to get out of the way, so He (God) could kill all the children of Israel. God s will is bendable: That s why Abraham was able to intercede before God for Sodom and Gomorrah. God s time and will are both bendable: That s how Mary pulled the future into the present in John 2:1-11: o On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus said to her, Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come. 5 His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it. 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now! 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him (John 2:1-11 NKJV). o Jesus clearly stated that His time had not yet come. Since Jesus only did what Father did (John 5:19) and said what Father said (John 12:49), Father was saying His time was not yet! o But Mary pulled what was ONCE reserved for the future into the present. God changed His mind! He also changed His timing! That s why the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15 persisted bothering Jesus, even after Jesus ignored her and then told her no. o Matthew 15:21-28: Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My
Page 7 of 11 daughter is severely demon-possessed. 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us. 24 But He answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me! 26 But He answered and said, It is not good to take the children s bread and throw it to the little dogs. 27 And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. o Was healing this woman s portion? Yes, eventually. She believed in Him, and healing power was made available later for believers to go out and heal as a sign that the Gospel was true. o BUT, she wanted to be healed NOW. She believed now; and even though Jesus ministry was to the Jews, she believed enough and persisted in her petition, which was a prayer, enough that she pulled what would have been released in the future into her present. o God does change His mind. HE does not change, but He does change His mind. He also changes His timing. o How? In response to prayer and intercession. In response to sustained prayer. In response to fasting. But even more, in response to FAITH. Faith in the Greek requires both the believing of a thing and the verbal confessing of it. Speak out the thing you want to pull into the future! Speak out that thing God has promised you! 4. Why God tells you certain things BEFORE their time, and how to handle the inside information He gives you: Sometimes He tells you early because He wants you to be hungry. o People generally arrive at their destiny in one of two ways: Either they see it and strain toward it always; or They don t see it and strain toward God for the knowledge. Either way requires a process of spiritual labor and delivery. Either way requires the person to seek God with all their heart, and to keep their motives right. Sometimes He tells you early so that the vision will grip you and you will pray it into the earth. Sometimes He tells you early because He wants you to ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. o John 16:24: Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Page 8 of 11 But no matter what, if you see something early, PRAY. Pray, pray, pray. This is the primary reason God will tell you. Remember that He needs intercessors: o Ezekiel 22:30: So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. o AND o God requires agreement from our prayers and intercessions to move on the earth. Word of caution: God is NOT likely to be telling you who someone else is to marry, or that someone else should move from city to city, or that someone else should change jobs. He will talk to you about these things if you want Him to but hold them very lightly when He does, until you are SURE it is Him you re hearing but these things are things He will talk to each individual about personally. It is NOT your job to go around telling people to do things like marry, move, or switch jobs. That is something the spirit of control and manipulation does. It s not something that Holy Spirit does. 5. How to know what God is doing in each new season: How to know what God is doing in each new season: Sometimes you can tell when a new challenge arises. Season of death I went through once when someone stabbed me in the back out of the blue. It was totally unexpected, but it forced me into a new level of obedience because I had to suddenly be like that grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies. o John 12:23-26: But Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. Sometimes you can tell because God suddenly starts talking about different things. o Example: Recently, I went through a really hard time. It felt like it would NEVER end! But suddenly, after some things got resolved, even though I was finding it difficult to believe that the hard time could be over, God started speaking to me out of Isaiah 60. That chapter is full of verses about wealth and blessing and favor. o Sometimes God tells you what He s doing, but it sounds too good to be true so you wait with baited breath, almost afraid to believe it, until suddenly you see Him doing the thing He promised you for this season! o When that happens, relax and rest in faith. God really IS doing it! 6. Timing Look at Noah. o How did he know when it was time to go into the ark? God said!
Page 9 of 11 Genesis 7:1-5: Then the LORD said to Noah, Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made. 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. In this case, God told Noah exactly what to do and when to do it. Noah simply had to have a listening ear. o But the process for knowing timing to leave the ark after the flood was very different. o After the Flood, how did Noah determine if he was in God s timing for leaving the ark or not? Genesis 8:1-19: Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen. 6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. 10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. 11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore. 13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. 15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh
Page 10 of 11 that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. o When Noah was trying to discern the timing for leaving the ark, he had to test the times! He put out some feelers. He put his proverbial toe in to see if it was the right thing/right time or not. o Notice that it was months between the time leaving the ark would have been possible and the time when God actually told them to leave the ark. Leaving would have been possible when the ark settled on the mountains of Ararat. They were on the ground. But Noah put his toe in and it wasn t time. Then finally, it was time. Noah found this out on his own AND THEN GOD SAID TO LEAVE. o Timing has to be tested! 4 tests you can apply to know if you re in God s timing or not: o Is this thing working? Is there flow? Faith works! o Do you have grace for it? Or is it tearing you up? I started blogging in 2012 when I was working full-time. I worked fulltime until the middle of April 2016, building this blog at the same time and working every week at my church about 20 hours a week or more. I also discipled multiple people in person and did a TON of crisis response work. People asked how I did it, but it was fun to me. Sure, I was tired; but I loved it. But eventually the grace for it left, and I knew Father was saying I had to stop. The time for stopping had come. That s when I recognized that Father was moving me into a new season of leaving my corporate job completely. Grace to do a thing feels like how many hops left in your wind-up toy. By the time my husband finally agreed for me to quit, I felt like I had zero more hops in me. o Do I have unction from the Holy Spirit, our Paraclete, to pray into this thing? o If you pray for doors to open that God wants open and doors to close that God wants closed, does your opportunity disappear? 7. Why you can have total peace about your new season, rather than fear: When God is ready to promote you, He will send you a big fat giant for you to kill so you can become king. He s ready to promote you, but sometimes there has to be a dying first. That s how promotion works in the Kingdom. So if your new season is just awesome and full of blessings, enjoy it! Because Father is rewarding you!
Page 11 of 11 But if your new season is challenging and full of difficulty and requires you to die to some things, rejoice! Father is about to promote you! 8. Impartation!