New Period: From Obedience to Fruit
We are stepping into a new period, and this is more than a striking phrase. It is a spiritual reality in which God prepares His people for what we are not fully ready to carry. This season feels like the sound of trumpets: the King is coming, and our hearts are summoned to reverent awe, not human fear. The biblical cycles are not empty ritual but a fresh turn on the path, where what we once knew becomes living obedience and faith takes a concrete step.
A new period begins the moment God enters our circumstances. Peter, addressing Israel, proclaimed the Messiah: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:23–24). Here is the hinge: “But God.” Every dead end gains a different horizon when the power of the resurrection breaks in.
On this revelation the Church stands. When Yeshua asked the disciples who they believed Him to be, Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Yeshua answered, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:16, 18). The Church is not built on human strength or the charisma of leaders but on the revealed identity of the Messiah. This is a central emphasis of the message: the center and foundation of the new period is Christ Himself, not our methods.
The new period also calls us back to our first calling. Peter, exhausted after a fruitless night, cast the net again at Yeshua’s word and saw a miracle. Later, after the resurrection, the Lord again told the fishermen to throw the net, and they gathered an abundant catch. Yeshua reaffirmed the call: do not be afraid, from now on you will fish for people. This rhythm is unmistakable: the Word, obedience, fruit. Where we surrender our heart, mind, and will to God, our discipleship is renewed.
A new period is inseparable from the outpouring of the Spirit. Yeshua taught the disciples about the Kingdom and commanded them to wait for the promise: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). At Pentecost the promise became experience: the Spirit came, their mouths were opened, and the first act of the community was to proclaim the Word of God. Witness is not a peripheral task but the Church’s very breath. Where we speak of God’s works, strength is renewed in us and hope awakens in those who hear.
This new period is written into the prophetic promises. God declared to His people: “The days are coming… when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah… I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts… For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31–34, NIV, selected). In the New Covenant this opened through the power of the Spirit and a living knowledge of the Messiah available to both the least and the greatest. Such is the gospel that must sound from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
The apostolic pattern is simple and powerful: the Church proclaims, and God adds those who are being saved. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14). We do not sort people by ethnicity, culture, or status: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16). The Church is Christ’s fragrance among those who are being saved and those who are perishing, remaining sincere before God and people.
A new period demands open mouths and open hearts. Scripture urges us: “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10). When we speak of Yeshua, the Spirit fills our words with power and grace. If our mouths remain closed, there is nothing to fill. Faith does not lock itself in a private chamber. It seeks the neighbor – the wounded, the weary, the lost – and extends to them the living word of comfort, repentance, and hope.
This new period is also an exchange of strength. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31). We bring Him our weakness, and He gives us His strength. Thus the inner person is transformed: self-preservation yields to service, bitterness to love, despair to boldness. This is not the achievement of willpower but the fruit of received grace and obedience to the Holy Spirit.
The new period is lived out in every climate, in ease and in trial. The apostles never ceased to speak of Yeshua, and the Lord confirmed their word. The Church multiplied not by administration, but by the gospel. Our path remains the same today: to be established in the Word, to abide in prayer, to serve by our gifts, and to witness so that God may add those who are being saved.
The new period is not another round of activity but a renewed heart. We are called to pray for those who persecute us, to bless those who curse us, and to love our enemies – the strength of the cross conquers evil with good. A second key emphasis: the Church of the new period is known by open witness and practical love, not by the volume of its projects.
The new period does not ignore past wounds but seeks healing in God’s presence. He is patient with our doubts, yet He calls us to trust Him today. Today is the day of salvation, the day when mouths open, the nets of obedience go into the depths, and the Lord fills them with His harvest. This is not the heroism of a few, but the consent of each one: here I am, Lord – take me and send me.
This new period ends the cycle of fruitless busyness and opens the path to true fruitfulness. We say yes to Him, receive the Spirit’s power, and go to witness at home, among friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Thus the Church lives its calling and passes through the times, for its foundation does not change: “And on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18). A third key emphasis: God is already at work – our part is to open our mouths and our hearts so that He may work through us.
Pastor Oren Lev Ari