It’s Time!
July 30, 2009 // By: Bob Hamp // 8 Comments
Time: An english word we usually use to describe the movement of hands (or digits) on a clock. There is another way we use this word. The alarm goes off, the nurse comes in, or the contractions begin to come in closer proximity and we say “It’s Time!”
The Greek word for this is Kairos. You may have seen my writing, or read on our church website that we host an event called Kairos. I have received enough inquiries, I thought I would say a few words about our Kairos freedom weekend.
The First thing I would say is this. Our definition of Freedom is based on two verses in the Bible. In John Chapter 8, Jesus tells the crowd, “you can know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” In 2nd Corinthians 3, Paul tells the Corinthian church, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.”
Rather than define freedom as the absence of bad behavior, or the expulsion of demonic forces, we believe the Bible tells us that freedom is the not the absence of something, it is the presence of Someone. Certainly some things get in the way, but removing them does not equal freedom. Freedom is when you engage the presence of God and become the person you are created and redeemed to be.
Our weekend is structured with this in mind. We spend the first part of our time reminding us all that pursuing God for the restoration of our identity is our goal.
The rest of the weekend is a series of instructions on how we interact with God. Confession, listening for His voice, bringing Him the entanglements of our soul, in honest communication, these interactions are intermingled with a variety of interactive ministry exercises. The intent is that we move beyond a mental engagement only, and really love the Lord our God with our mind, heart, soul and strength.
The most important part of our time together is worship. Having provided instruction in a variety of entanglements, and providing opportunities to surrender these entanglements to God, we engage in worship. Sometimes it is musical. We are convinced that God inhabits the praises of His people. We bring ourselves to Him, and then ask that He come inhabit our worship. Our desire is that in this personal encounter God will work deeply in peoples souls.
Now…I just read what I wrote. It was a little like a biochemical discussion of romantic love. It can be described this way, but if you hear only the mechanics of our time, you will miss what is really going on.
Men and women, from all ages, and a variety of religious backgrounds come and drop their guard. They let God win the tug of war. They walk out with a variety of responses. Most say they will never be the same. Isn’t that what you always thought would happen when people encounter God? It’s Time!!
If you have been to Kairos please leave a comment so others can hear from you as well.
8 Comments
Once again, clearly articulated! I love Kairos!
You can expect the unexpected. The surrender of everything leaves room for God’s agenda alone. His ways, as always, are higher and more mysterious. I recommend everyone to go through Kairos, Gateway member or not. It is free of charge and lead by the Holy Spirit.
It was great~ I have and will recommend it (and the Foundation classes) to all who will listen! Thank you for digging deeper so we can too
Gosh, I love this ministry of Gateway! It is my favorite. Can I say that? I’ve sat in the front row at both Kairoses [spelling?], but this time around, because I was not emotionally wrecked like I was the first time, I noticed something this morning. I turned just a few times during morning worship, when I Am Free was being sung, and got to see smiles and a light-heartedness that was not present the day before. I couldn’t help but smile even bigger at the evidence of work that had already been done…and we weren’t done yet. Freedom is evident in the countenance of an individual. It is light shining in the places darkness once inhabited. My first Kairos took me on a journey that left me raw and questioning everything about what I thought about myself…but in a good, productive way. This Kairos proved to me that what we believe to be our “issues” are never really what they seem…they are just the peripheral byproducts of what lays at the core of each of us. God is so much smarter than we are!
Freedom Ministry provides a place for people to meet with God in a safe and incredibly loving atmosphere and then gives tools to get us to a place we couldn’t have figured out on our own. And then you guys step out of the way and let God do His work. I wish everyone I know could somehow make it to a Kairos and see themselves and their circumstances through God eyes. It is LIFE CHANGING!!! I [heart] you…Kairos Ministry Team! 
Kairos is life-changing; but not just Kairos. The classes offered weekly are essential to prepare for you for something so life-changing.Every class every time peals off an old layer of bondage & allows you experience (& get used to) a new you. You walk in it for a while. When you do experience Kairos, you are ready; as if you can be ready. It is AMAZING!!!!! Amazing!
Through my life, I have built a pretty ornate fortress around myself-my emotions-my pain. God has been gently telling me “It is time” for the last several months and I felt led to go to the last Kairos. I tried to go without any “plans” of what I wanted to happen. My goal was to meet God there and let Him do what He wanted to do with me. Bob, your words “dropping their guard” and letting “God win the tug of war” are right on! It may seem scary and awfully vulnerable to drop your guard and have to “feel” but at Kairos, in the sweet, loving presence of the Lord the walls come down in the most gentle of ways and you are filled with the purest sense of peace and perfect love. I join the chorus of those who say “I will never be the same”! If you haven’t attended a Kairos, do! God WILL show up and you WILL be changed…in a great way!
I attended Kairos this past weekend and to say it was life-changing was an understatement. The entire experience was absolutely God-ordained. I can honestly say that Heaven and earth were divinely joined during those three days. My heart was healed and my soul quickened for mighty works of the Lord for my future. He filled me with peace and revealed in me a spirit of fear and powerlessness that I had carried my entire life, over which now the enemy has no ground!! But most importantly I really knew deep in my heart that God loved me and is for me, and that He is the love of my life, my all, my everything!!
What I did not know until very early Monday morning was that God’s appointed time was preparing me for the unexpected death of my husband at the age of 39. You see, I was scheduled to attend Kairos back in May, but at the last minute was unable to attend. I was sorely disappointed, because I had such anticipation for “deliverance” if you will. The amazing thing is that the Lord began this deliverance process even then, slowly working me the next couple of months through aspects of His Word, the power and authority of prayer, and the beginnings of understanding peace. Yet something always lingered….
well at Kairos, He worked this miracle in my soul. Took me to an entirely different level of faith, hearing His voice, and knowing WITHOUT REPENTANCE that He IS the one true God and the ONLY source of all that I am (my birthright as you described it). I couldn’t wait to tell my husband all about it. We went out on a beautiful date Saturday night, yet the Lord told me “not yet”. Sunday, we went spent the day as a family, and still the Lord said, “not yet”. It was early Monday morning when the Lord suddenly called Terry home. And through it all, yes there is pain, yes there is mourning, but there is also a supernatural peace that can only be explained my His indescribable presence over me. I now believe that the reason the Lord had me not discuss it with Terry was two-fold – to spend our last days together discussing our kids, our love, and telling each other how much we love each other, and to reserve what the Lord revealed just for me so that I could draw from it without regret. I know without a shadow of doubt that the Father will guide my every step, husband me, hold me, carry me and my children, and that HIS purposes will be revealed through the earthly loss of my husband. It was His ordained plan for me to attend Kairos when I did, and I know that full well.
Thank you to you and your staff for your commitment to Kairos and the Freedom Ministry.
What an amazing time that Gateway offers to the Body of Christ…and without charge. Wow! I have never seen people work so tirelessly and sacrificially for the good of others. The team that came together to minister at Kairos just worked and worked and worked and with obvious joy. I was exhausted, and I was just a recipient of all the labor. Don’t know how you people do it, but I sure am glad you do. What an amazing time. As Robert Morris continues to say “EVERYBODY needs to go through Freedom Ministry. EVERYBODY.”