Bill Johnson - Safety in the Presence of God
Man, what an amazing selection of songs! I was about to get lost in that «Blessing» song. That song was just written, by the way; if you don’t know it, it’s by Steve Verdick and Carrie Joven, and the husband and the funk, Cody and a bunch of Bunchems just wrote that. It’s like a prescription God wrote a couple of weeks ago for what’s going on right now. The blessings beat curses in the Bible; people would suffer with a curse to the third and fourth generation, but blessings go to the thousandth generation because they are superior in every way.
It’s critical that we adjust our thinking, anticipation, and expectation of prayers everything according to the lifestyle of heaven, the way God thinks and lives. He’s not intimidated by anything. If you decide who’s going to shape your thinking, decide wisely. If you have more input from the media than from the Word of God, your depression and discouragement are your responsibility. Your heaviness of heart is self-inflicted. Turn the thing off and turn this thing on. I’m serious; just adjust! Why? Because we’ve been called to be an influence in the midst of difficulty and calamity. It doesn’t matter what the situation is; we are always there to be, not the answer, but to usher in the answer through the wonderful message of the gospel. This is the privilege we have as believers.
An illustration I’ve been using for the last several years seems to be even more fitting than ever. In Scripture, you see that Israel in the wilderness, when it was in the heat of the day, had God manifest as a cloud covering to bring coolness. In the cold of the night, He was there as a pillar of fire, showing up opposite to His surroundings. So how does He show up in a virus or pandemic? He shows up as the solution—the redemptive solution to bring healing to people’s bodies. I agree completely with what Christos led in prayer; this is supposed to be the ignition point for a massive healing revival unlike the world has ever seen, eclipsing what took place in the 50s. That was the greatest thing the world had ever seen, with miracles happening like nothing seen before.
I remember talking to an evangelist who was alive during that era and saw what God was doing. He told me there were times when up to 350 revival tents were scattered all across the nation with miracles taking place unlike anything seen before. I believe what God is doing right now is going to eclipse that, but we’ve got to position our hearts for it. Our online community, we are always thrilled that you are with us. You have grown in number because we won’t let our people come to church today, so we’ll keep you updated week by week on what we’re doing. We are really thankful for our online community, and today I just want to bless all of you. We are going to receive Communion at the end.
If you joined us recently, we’ll have these little cups set up with the wafer included. I encourage those of you at home or at your place of business—if it’s possible at all—for you to get Communion supplies together so you can join us. I believe it’s going to be a prophetic release of power for us as a church family, for our households, and for this nation as well as the nations of the world. So I want us to look today at Psalms 91. If you could open your Bibles to that, please do. By the way, I want to suggest that everybody download the antivirus software called the power of the Holy Spirit. The antivirus software is named Jesus, and He is manifested through the power of the Holy Spirit. If it remains a philosophy, you are vulnerable to the virus and all other things.
So I just declare the good news that Jesus is our antivirus software, and hopefully, each one of us can find something to really grab hold of in this 91st Psalm today. It’s my personal conviction—there’s no guilt or shame for anybody who is suffering with this virus. Please, let’s pray that as a result of our gathering today, multitudes of people would be healed. We’re going to set something up in the coming weeks where people with the virus will be able to call in or use FaceTime. Kevin Dedmon had a suggestion this week, so we’ll try to figure out how we can do that, having our phones or screens occupied by believing believers to pray for people around the world with this disease. We believe that in every hellish situation, Jesus has predetermined vindication. He is prepared to reverse the effects for the promotion of the gospel. He didn’t start this thing, but He is prepared to reverse its effects. So what if fear threw a party and nobody showed up?
That’s kind of what I’m thinking about this whole thing. This is just my opinion, but I believe the virus is real. I believe it’s very serious. However, I think what’s happening around the nation is 5% virus and 95% fear. Right now, it seems to me that fear is riding the wings of the virus. You can’t, you know, you can’t embrace fear and love simultaneously. The embracing of fear is the rejection of love. In this particular study today, we will look at how the love of God, by abiding in love, actually repels affliction and infirmity and helps us live in integration. Alright, enough of the warm-ups; let’s get into the Word and begin with verse 1. In fact, I want to read the whole psalm first, and then we’ll back up and go through it verse by verse.
Alright, so let’s read the whole thing. I’m reading from the New King James Version. The title of the psalm is «Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God.» Oh, here’s my prayer: I believe that the manifest presence of God upon His people is the key to divine health. Learning to host Him, learning to yield to Him, and learning to cooperate with Him is what He is going to train us in this particular season. Come on in, guys! We’ve got a worship team looking for places to sit, so let’s come on in. We have seats all over here. And for those of you online, just crawl through the screen—I’m just kidding!
Alright, verse 1 of Psalm 91: «He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.» I will say of the Lord, «He is my refuge and my fortress, my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings, you shall take refuge. His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. In their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. Because He has set His love upon me, therefore, I will deliver him. I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.»
This is a wonderfully well-known psalm because of its elements of safety, protection, and vindication throughout. I want us to go through this because I believe there are specific truths that the Lord would want us to take hold of today, especially considering what’s going on all over the world. Today is supposed to be the start of a revival series. But we’re going to restart; this is what I’m doing—this is revival-flavored antivirus software! Alright, but he who dwells…verse one—we’re going to go through it verse by verse, so please follow with me in your Bibles: «He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.»
Stop right there. He who dwells—you remember the scripture talks about abiding in Christ? If we abide in Him, His words abide in us. When it talks about dwelling in the shelter of the Almighty, we’re not discussing a point of theology; we’re talking about a lifestyle. In other words, it’s not just a verse you’ve memorized; it’s supposed to develop into an ongoing lifestyle of consciousness and awareness of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Many people stop short of a divine encounter because they’re satisfied with good theology. The Word is an invitation to meet the person. This is not supposed to be just a verse I quote. That’s valuable, but it should be the endeavor of my heart—to discover the manifest presence of God upon me as a surrendered son, upon me as a yielded vessel. He says, «He who dwells in the shelter of the Almighty shall abide under the shadow of His wings.» The shadow of the Almighty—the shadow is a dark place.
I’ll never forget my grandmother, my mom’s mom. She was losing her eyesight, and so many of us would read to her. I would take ten turns reading to her from the scripture. She would memorize entire Psalms, and my uncle would memorize books of the Bible. They were just into that memory thing, which becomes contagious after a while. You know, I would sit down, and I remember she wanted me to read her a particular book by Corrie ten Boom. In this book, as I recall, it was some sort of devotional that she had written. In this book, she talked about dwelling under the shadow of the Almighty. She made a statement that I’ve never been able to shake. Thankfully, she made this statement: sometimes it’s dark because he’s so close; sometimes his nearness causes things to be out of focus. It’s that shadow of his presence. Sometimes we misstate the moment that we’re in by natural interpretation instead of the realization of what scripture says. Scripture says you’re in the shadow of the Almighty. So the people who turn their affection toward the ongoing manifestation of the abiding presence of the Spirit of God dwell in a habitation that, even when it’s dark, is only a testimony of his nearness.
Verse 2: Alright, I’m back. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God; in him, I will trust. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my fortress, my God; in him, I will trust. This is the only proactive position in the psalm that is implied later, but this one is the action point of this song. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my portion; in him, I trust. I always take this and turn it into a personal declaration: God, you are the one that I trust; you are my refuge. For years, when I came to that, I didn’t like the wording because I wanted to make it personal, and then it hit me: the wording is chosen for a reason. We are supposed to confess and declare that he is our trust, but this is actually a confession we are to make to one another. I will say of the Lord; it’s important that we guard what we say to one another, to the community we’re in.
In the grocery store yesterday, I was on a plane flying back from New Mexico, from a healing conference of all things, packed with people living the antivirus thing. I sat next to a lady who said, «I wish I didn’t have to fly; I’d rather not be in here.» She was wiping everything down with sanitizer, which I think is smart. Let me come back to that; common sense needs to be embraced. Just on that, common sense can be the hiding place of fear. There are some people saying right now that taking any precaution is an act of fear. Now, don’t be stupid; don’t play with a rattlesnake and call it faith. I feel better.
So the lady next to me was wiping everything down. She said, «Would you like one of these?» I said, «No, I’ve got the liquid stuff; I’ve already done it; I’m good.» She said, «I wish I didn’t have to fly.» You know, she was just very afraid, and that’s where you step in. You don’t ever want to make somebody feel ashamed for their fear; you just want to throw them a lifeline. That’s all. Don’t make people feel guilty because they’re struggling with fear; some people have lost loved ones, and others have a history of sickness. They’ve got a reason for it; you know, don’t make people feel guilty for their struggle. Just throw them a lifeline; be a Hope Center. Both hopelessness and hope are contagious; choose how infectious you want to be.
Alright, so here it is. He says, «I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge, my fortress, my God; in him, I will trust.» When I was thinking about this, here’s this passage in Colossians: «Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.» What is that? It’s actually a confession of truth, scripture, and even in song. It’s interesting they would apply Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Psalms are biblical songs; hymns are things that were written; songs that have been written. Spiritual songs are spontaneous, and there are times for them to be sung to each other, which is not a practice we do, but we should maybe learn how to do it. Some of you just sing softly; yeah, I’m talking about as a badger, as bad, bad joels. That was like when Chris went to visit my dad when he was in his final days. Chris said, «I feel like I’m supposed to sing over you,» and my dad asked him to sing «On the Hill Far Away.» He said, «You mean the song 'On the Hill Far Away'?» She said, «No, on a hill far away.» He always had a good sense of humor. Some, excuse me.
So here it says, «I will say of the Lord.» There’s another place in Isaiah 35 where it states, and I’ll just read it to you quickly. It says that we should say to the one with weak knees and a feeble heart, «Be strong, take courage.» The very next verse says, «Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be loosed.» It’s significant what we say to each other; being intentional in our declarations to one another is a huge part of this thing we call faith—this life of faith. This faith in Christ is a walk with Christ. It’s the caution, but it’s also the proactive position of declaring what God has said, what God is saying in this environment, and not feeding or fueling the fear element that is gripping so many hearts. So here’s the one intentional action in this Psalm: «I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, my fortress, my God. In Him will I trust.»
Verse 3: «Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.» To me, the «snare of the fowler» implies a trap set for a bird; He will deliver you from that snare. It suggests that you may have been caught in the snare, but He’s going to release you. If you didn’t receive the protection you were supposed to have to keep you from the snare, once you’re in it, He’ll set you free. The whole point is, for all of you who are watching: some of you are in absolute divine health, while others are struggling. He will deliver you from the snare. If you got caught in this snare, it’s not shame; it’s not condemnation. We live in a world of sin and get exposed to things that aren’t your fault. The good news is, He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
Verse 4: «He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.» A buckler is a small shield, so it’s more of a hand-to-hand combat type of picture. All right, I always quote this verse when people complain about feathers appearing in our meetings: «He shall cover you with His feathers.» Well, that’s not literal, Bill, and I’d say, «I know that’s what I thought.» All right, verse 5: «You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.» This is important—the distinction. In the New Testament, the arrows are the enemy’s thoughts.
Remember the example of the armor of God? The shield of faith is to absorb the thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and temptations—the junk that the enemy throws our way. So the arrows come during the day when you’re alive and thinking; at night is the terror. He’s distinguishing between the two. If you go to bed with fear, you’re embracing this thought that something could happen at night. It’s that feeling of foreboding that spirits deal with a lot: the expectation or anticipation of something bad happening. «Oh man, I hope nothing bad happens to this family member.» That foreboding spirit is that terror in the night. The Lord is actually equipping us to take a position of shield and buckler—the figure of the shield of faith to absorb the things that come at us during the day. But we should do it so well during the day that when it’s time to go to bed, we can sleep in peace knowing that He will defend us.
Now I’m going to throw in a word—it’s not a biblical word, but one of two times in my life I’ve experienced the Lord waking me up in the middle of the night with His voice. This happened about 23 years ago, shortly after we came to the city that I won’t name. I think it’s been 24 years; 24 years this last month. About 23 years ago, I was awakened in the night with this phrase: «He watches over the watch of those who watch the Lord.» We know what a watchman is. A watchman is positioned on a wall to see what might be coming toward the city: good news—people coming in to trade and open the gates; or bad news—people trying to sneak into the city to kill, steal, and destroy. The watchman keeps watch.
And this verse said He will watch over my watch if I watch Him, so this «terror by night» thing means that we go to sleep literally with our eyes on Him, knowing that He will watch our watch on our behalf. Amen? No, that was an excellent point. Alright, let’s move to verse 6, which is basically the same thing: «Nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday.» Verse 7: «A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked.»
I want to be careful here. First of all, I don’t want to ignore the judgment verses in the Old Testament; I don’t want to wash them away and pretend they don’t exist. That’s not healthy, nor is it accurate. Whenever I see a person who lives in corruption and evil, it doesn’t matter how deep they are lost, I am always praying for mercy. I don’t care how lost they are, how demonized they are, or how they may be a self-proclaimed devil worshiper. It makes no difference to me; I’m going to pray for the mercy of God. But I will let you in on a secret: in my prayer, I say, «Lord, if they absolutely refuse to repent and will not turn, then please use Your dealings with them to instill the fear of God in the people of God; awaken us to this reality.»
Now, another thing I need to mention is that just because you have difficulty, are struggling, or are sick, that is not the judgment of God. So, anyone who is watching online, we’re going to pray for this at the end; it’s not the judgment of the Lord; that’s not what He’s doing. This is quite a different deal here. Alright, verse 9: «Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,» referring back to verse 1, «no evil will befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways.» Let’s go back over verse 10 and 11 again, I’m sorry, verse 9, because here’s the reason: «Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.»
Stop right there! I just want to reemphasize learning to live in the manifestation of the presence of God, the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. I cannot overemphasize the importance of us learning to live with continuous affection for the person of the Holy Spirit. There’s something about that abiding presence; it’s not just that He protects us. It’s that the closer I stay to His heartbeat, the more I know what to do in a difficult moment. The disciples came to Jesus and said, «Why couldn’t we cast the demon out of the child?» Jesus replied, «It only comes out with prayer and fasting,» yet He didn’t pray or fast. Why? Because the tenderness, the closeness, was already there. The devil was on His shoulder and remained so; there was a continuous, ongoing relationship and awareness of the Spirit of God.
So, He didn’t need to ask what fasting was for; it’s to refine our focus to the Kingdom. It’s to say no to other appetites so we can truly hunger for the reality of the unseen promises of God to become manifest. That’s what it is: fasting is refining focus. Jesus didn’t fast in a moment; why? He lived with a refined focus, a connection to the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. So this promise here is not just this casual notion that the Holy Spirit is with us always; it’s an invitation to develop an awareness of the Spirit of God upon our lives in such a way that it’s not just to protect me from plagues. It’s to keep me in the center of what He is doing on planet Earth. It makes me the offensive weapon, if you will, the one who can bring hope in hopeless situations, the one who refuses to cower in the face of threat and disease and all the junk that goes on. Unwilling to cower, I will not give honor to a disease. I will not give honor to a disease.
Cancer is with a small «c»; Jesus is a capital «J.» Always keep it big. It may seem silly to you, but that’s what’s going on in my head. Alright, because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, here’s to a conversation with people: because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil will befall you. How about seeing people who live in that abiding presence and making that confession over them? Realities are released through decree, not just what we choose to say. I mean, life and death are still in the power of the tongue, but I’d rather just make sure I’m saying what He’s saying. How about being in that moment where you can look at somebody and say, «You know what? I’ve got a good word for you: no evil will come near your tent; no evil will befall you.» It’s got to be declared, Christian.
Remember that time you prophesied about the people who couldn’t have kids and had been trying for 13 years? The Lord spoke to Chris and said to tell them they would have a child by this time next year. He was struggling, as any of us would be, to make such a declaration to someone who couldn’t have children. The Lord spoke to me and said, «If you don’t declare it, it won’t happen.» So he did, and they did. Some things actually have to be declared to happen; we must understand that we are a part of that economy. That’s who we are, how we live, and how we function. Verse 10: «No evil will befall you, nor any plague come near your dwelling.» Why? For He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. In their hands, they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
As most of you know, one of my dearest friends is Randy Clark. I was just with him in New Mexico, and he tells the story of his time of ministry in Argentina and Brazil. In Argentina, one of the leaders he was learning from and partnering with made a statement to him, which I’ll paraphrase: «In the American church, you know a lot about operating in the gifts of the Spirit, but you don’t know how to partner with the angelic.» Personally, I do not believe in telling angels what to do; I won’t go there. But I have found that, in Scripture, our decrees inform the angelic realm of their assignment. Our decrees, when we say what He is saying, carry the fragrance of the Father, reflecting their origin. The angelic realm senses that this decree came from the throne room, and this is their assignment.
In Psalms 103, it says that angels carry out His word. I believe that’s when God declares the matter; sometimes He simply declares it. Their assignment is set whether we vote yes or no; it will happen anyway. The second part of the verse states that angels give attention to the voice of His word. In my experience, the voice of His word is you and me. It’s when God speaks in the quiet of our hearts, and unless we declare it, it goes unsaid. Picture this: something originating in the throne room, and we make that decree—His angels would give charge over you. That’s a part of this confession made from one to another: His angels will give charge over you. What happens as that comes from the heart of God Himself? The angelic realm knows that is their assignment. I’m merely supposing that’s how it works.
In the natural world, we know flies are attracted to decay. Satan is called the Lord of the Flies; the demonic realm is attracted to decay in thought, morals, and values. That’s why what we say will attract one of two worlds. There’s life and death in the power of the tongue, and we must garden ourselves to deposit in one another, not just hopeful words, but actually creating a bull’s-eye that the angelic realm will reinforce. That’s our assignment: a people of courage who must establish the bull’s-eye—if you will—targeting God’s intent in each situation. It’s a lifestyle that we have the privilege of living: He will give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways; in their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Let’s go to verse 13: «You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.»
This is a passage that Jesus quotes, at least in part, in the Gospel of Luke. Here’s an important thought: this whole Psalm is about protection until this verse, which states that the protected will receive vindication. The protected will trample on the very efforts of darkness to kill, steal, and destroy. Those who remain in safety, as death falls at your side and ten thousand at your other side, are now released to tread upon the powers of darkness that caused the disaster in the first place. We are summoned not to sit idly by and just pray, «Oh God, please protect me; please keep me from harm.» To think that way is almost yielding to the virus—in this case, the coronavirus—but just in general, the life of a believer. To simply try to be the protected, safe person is the opposite of our calling, the opposite of our design. The safest place in the kingdom is at the front lines of battle. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
Jesus made that statement to his disciples; he brought it into New Testament context in verse 14: «Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.» Go back to verse 14; let’s cover that one for a moment: «Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him.» Where does deliverance come from? It comes to the people who set their love on Him. I don’t want to twist the meaning of this, so again, do everything to resist any kind of guilt, shame, or whatever. To me, this is an invitation by God to learn what it is to fix the affection of our hearts, to be anchored in Him continuously. He makes a point for a reason: «Because he set his love on me, I will deliver.» I know when I’m home, I tell my wife that I love her many times a day—many times, sometimes during a meal. It’s going to be repeated frequently; I’m going to reset. I’ve already set my love on her, but I reset.
In Acts chapter 2, it says they continually devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread, to prayer, to fellowship, etc. They continued, continually devoted—they continually re-upped on the contract. There’s something about this passage that provokes me: «Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver.» There’s something about the ongoing; I hate to reduce it to a discipline, but if that’s what it takes, then do it. The ongoing resetting of our affection for Him throughout the day—if we need it, set it on your alarm as a reminder. Resetting our heart of affection for Him; there’s something about that. He’s such a lover that He’s drawn us.
You know, I’ve talked about this over the years, but when I go to sleep at night, I turn my affection toward Him. When I go into a difficult situation, I stop and turn my affection toward Him until I can sense His presence resting upon me. It’s not that He wasn’t there before, but something happens; either He comes or I become aware. I don’t care what it is; I like it. I turn my affection toward Him, and something happens in that moment where there is a manifest presence of God upon me for whatever environment I walk into. I’ve told you before— I remember a story. I used to shop at a grocery store that had Celtic stuff there too, and I loved to shop there.
I remember the owner taking me aside one day; before I’d walk in, I’d stand at the door, and as I went to the back, I’d just stand at the door and turn my affection toward the Lord to ensure I could sense the Spirit of God resting upon me. Then, I would walk in and just shop; I wouldn’t do anything different than anyone else. But the owner took me aside one day and said, «Bill, something is different when you walk in the room.» I know it’s because the manifest presence of God is resting upon me. So this is what He is saying: «Because you set your love on me, therefore I will deliver.» I just pray right now that every one of us upgrades that resetting of the affection of our hearts for Him—not just reduced to a discipline, but that the increasing passion of the Lord would become our passion.
I remember a prophetic word I heard, probably in 1972, before I got married in '73. I recall sitting in a service at Bethel Church’s old location when a woman prophesied. She said, «If you long for me as I have longed for you, you will be satisfied.» Ah, if you long for me! What does it mean to set your love on God? It means you’ve received His love. Do you know that? Do you know the Scriptures say, «We love Him because He first loved us»? When I love Him, I’m only loving Him back with what He gave me. When I opened my heart to receive His love, He gave me the capacity to love Him back. Strangely in Scripture, you see instructions for the husband to love the wife and for the wife to respect the husband. Why? Because if the husband does a good job loving the wife, she doesn’t need to be commanded to love in return. And all the women said yes! But you get the point.
The point is carried on in the illustration of Christ and His church, the husband and the wife: «Because He has set His love upon me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known my name.» I’m not sure what it means; my mind goes quickly to being seated in heavenly places, and it’s at that particular passage where we are seated in heavenly places with Christ—a wonderful, wonderful truth. The problem I have, not with the verse but with the issue, is that it gets reduced to a point of theology and never becomes an experience. Heavenly places are supposed to be a place from which we think and from which we see. It’s not a mind-over-matter thing; it’s not about disciplining our minds to imagine this or that. It’s that our love runs so true with the resetting of our hearts of affection towards Him that it becomes so ongoing.
We not only have the point of theology that is accurate—we are seated in heavenly places—but we actually think and see from that place. Our burning heart of affection for Him and His burning heart for us bring us into such a position that our perception changes. Everything changes. Because in that abiding place of presence, we think and see differently. It’s from that person who can say to the disease; it’s that person, as John G. Lake discovered, who could hold the disease in his hand, put it under a microscope, and watch it die. Not everyone could do that. Why? Because not everyone has life flowing from them continuously. If you take a garden hose and put it in foul, putrid water, whatever is in that puddle is going to leak into the hose. The only way to keep the inside of the hose unaffected is to ensure the water is turned on before you put it into the stuff.
If there’s a continual flow through the hose, you can place it in any environment, and it doesn’t get infected. We have people setting up barriers of protection around themselves because they don’t have enough flowing out. When you get this stuff flowing through you, that yielding is not just for the sake of power, but yielding because of this romance, this love, because you’ve set your heart of affection on Him. Suddenly there’s stuff flowing from us that starts changing the atmosphere and transforming the environment we walk into. We’ve been called into this for this season. This is the season of advancement.
Alright, we’re getting close to the end. That’s right, there’s 14 again; look at it in your Bible. There’s 14 again: «Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high.» It’s actually a place of safety, in a sense unreachable. By the way, Scripture teaches pretty clearly that we are out of reach of the enemy but not out of sight. That’s why He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. You’re out of reach, but you’re not out of sight. Why? I think the Lord loves to torment the devil; that’s just my thought. I think He rather enjoys it. You know what? You’re sitting at a table, and you’ve got the enemy all around you.
What is your attention on? Any situation where you feel like you’re under heavy assault, if you refine your focus, you’ll find the table of fellowship. He prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. If all you see is the enemy, then you need to readjust. Get back to what God has said about your life; find the table of communion. But in that table of fellowship with God is our place of great strength, great confidence, great life, and great health. Alright, getting down to the end: verse 15, «He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.» Verse 15 again: «He shall call upon me, and I will answer him.» I’m not going to go long on this one, but I am so tempted, and let me just tell you why. Continuous answers to prayer are what we were designed for. Not having them is abnormal, and that needs to matter. It needs to matter. What I see happen for us is that we pray about this, pray about that, have no breakthrough, and just assume it’s the will of God.
The disciples tried to cast a demon out of a child. If we could bring that analogy into today, when the child wasn’t delivered, we would just assume that in the sovereignty of God, it must be His will; He works in mysterious ways, which is the cop-out answer. It’s the cop-out answer to explain away our powerlessness. I’m trying. So what did the disciples do? Jesus comes along; He brings the deliverance. I made reference to it earlier: He brings deliverance to the child. He asks His disciples, «How long am I going to be with you?» This seemed to be a question He asked often: «How long shall I be with you?» The disciples are stunned. First of all, they are stunned by the fact they couldn’t bring deliverance. Why? Because they have a history of success. Jesus sent them out two by two; they’ve been with Him in those moments. They are the most trained people in deliverance of anyone who ever lived, except for Jesus up to that time.
So they’re shocked when it doesn’t happen. That’s a good shock. When something doesn’t happen, the day is coming when we are going to be shocked when somebody isn’t healed. So Jesus brings deliverance, and it says the disciples took Jesus aside privately. They asked, «How come we couldn’t do it? How come? How come it didn’t work when we tried?» Of course, Jesus said, «This kind only comes out by prayer and fasting.» What’s the point? When they didn’t get an answer, they took Jesus aside. What we tend to do is stop praying. It’s supposed to bother us enough that we look at the lack of a breakthrough as an abnormality. Something didn’t work right. I’m not going to blame it on the sovereignty of God. I’m not just going to say, «Well, somehow this must be God’s will.» I’m not going to do the cop-out thing and push it under the sovereignty of God. I’m going to take responsibility and come before the Lord until I find out why.
Take Jesus aside. I’m asking all of the Belleville family, the online community, and the local community to take at least a day this week, if it’s physically possible, to fast and cry out to the Lord. We’ve got to hone our focus in this season. We have to refine our focus to what God is saying and doing. This is our greatest opportunity for advancement. This is our greatest opportunity. It needs to come in miracle power. It needs to come in economic release, both for businesses, churches, and ministries. All over the world, they are being unbelievably hit by this thing. What has happened? We are being set up for massive, massive revival. How do we know this?
Let me give you just one historic lesson. We talked a lot about the Azusa Street revival. I did not know until yesterday that the Azusa Street revival began in 1906. As the Isuzu revival commenced, I did not know until yesterday that there were sparks of revival all over the United States in 1905. There were about a million new conversions in 1905, which set the stage for an explosion in 1906. What’s happening right now? Corporate gatherings around the world of tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands. We have Luis Palau; we have Franklin Graham; we have so many others in the Calvary Chapel movement. Their evangelists are holding these massive crusades. We’ve got The Send; we’ve got The Call; we’ve got all these things: Daniel Kolenda. We’ve got this stuff all over the world: the gathering of Believers and music, bringing tens of thousands of people together.
All this is happening now, and what’s happening now? All of it has shut down. Why? The enemy fears the impact of that. The assault is on the business community because that’s what funds the movement. This is the moment for vindication. But I believe it takes aggressive prayer on your part and mine, as we stand in the gap and say, «Not on my ship; not on my shift.»
What’s been happening in the last couple of years is 1905 all over again. God has set the stage for an explosion to take place. It’s to take place right now; we’re being positioned for it if we’ll posture ourselves with faith. Guard our hearts from those random fearful thoughts where we deny love and embrace fear. Position ourselves to find out what God is saying and make the decree. Get into the battle; get into the fight. Take that time: take a day to fast, cry out to God, lift up your voice, contend for those who are suffering. We have friends right now, people that I know, who have been hit by this thing; they’re suffering horribly. We stand in that place. We make that decree. I took communion with me this week and just walked in my hotel room, declaring the names of these individuals. Jesus bore their affliction on His body. He bore yours and mine on His body. There’s no sense in both of us paying the same price. It makes no sense.
So here he says, «I will be with him in trouble,» and he says, «I will answer him.» I feel like, do you know where every one of us started our life in Christ? All of us, you could take all of our gifts, all of our history, our heritage, or all the stuff about our lives and just take everything away until you come down to the one common denominator: the one common denominator is we called upon the Lord, he heard us, and he saved us. Our life started with an answer to prayer; our life started as an answer to prayer. We lifted up our voice, we cried out to God, he met us, and he performed the greatest miracle we will ever see in our lives, and that’s the salvation of our souls. We started in the miraculous; it was never supposed to decline. It was never supposed to decline.
So he says, «He’ll call upon me, I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.» I will be with him in trouble; that tells me sometimes I’m in trouble, but he’s with me. The table of fellowship is there in his presence. All right, I will deliver him and honor him; that’s a strange conclusion. I’m not just going to set him free and protect him; I’m not just going to get him out of the snare; I’m going to honor him as one of mine. I’m going to mark him; I’ll let him know, let her know that this one follows me. I’m reminded of Gideon’s prayer; he told all of the 300 soldiers around him, as you break these pitchers, remember these torches with pitchers, «Over man, as you break those pictures yell out for the Lord and for Gideon.»
There are times when he will actually have somebody honor you publicly for your courage, maybe in front of another friend. I remember as a parent, I took on the intentionality of bragging on my children to another adult while my children were present. I remember when Eric drew on a bedroom wall in our house and injured the city landscaping of these high-rise buildings, with windows and everything. When I got home, Benny said, «You need to come see what Eric did.» So in, I looked at this wall with Eric standing there like this. I remember how old you were, four or five. So I looked at all he did it with crayons, you know, and marked all over the spare bedroom wall. I’m looking at these things and said, «Son, that’s really good! You did a good job! Look at the details! Look at these windows! You look at these big buildings and small buildings, amazing! You did a good job.»
So I went on to praise him. I said, «Next time you want to draw, just let us know; we’ll get you paper.» Then, a week or so later, we had guests over for dinner; we had friends over for a meal. After the meal, I said, «Hey, you guys got to come with me, come see this.» So I took our guests back into the bedroom, and Eric was standing there all happy, and I said, «I want you to look at what my son, the artist, drew.»
You know, «But Eric, look at this! Look at the details here! Look at the windows! Look at all the stuff! You know, that’s what he does! Be the child that realizes the privilege that he promised, and I would honor him. Don’t deflect it; don’t deflect it! If we don’t know how to receive honor, we’ll have no crown to throw at his feet.» Last verse: «With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.» It’s the promise of the Lord. Just two wonderful things about today: because there’s not another service following, I don’t have to tell you to go home; I love that part. The other part is, I don’t have to watch the clock. There will be no parking problem today; there will be no parking problem. He bruises open, though I encourage you to get coffee afterward. But look at this: this promise, «With long life, I will satisfy him.»
There are two things here. There’s the promise of long life, but the long life is given to satisfy. I don’t know if I can express this very well; the quest for life means I must live longer. Some have lost the quest for life; some have retired from this, quit that. All they have is just the routine of making it through every day. It’s no longer the adventure of faith for them. It’s no longer the conquest. It’s no longer about bringing in a fruitful harvest for His glory. It’s just been reduced to simply abiding in Christian discipline and fellowship, but there’s no quest for life. He says, «With long life, I will satisfy.»
All right, we’re going to share communion. I want you to stand; you’ve been sitting for a long time. If you’re at home, please grab your elements, and we’re going to share communion together. Now, more than ever, in the beauty and the power of communion—of the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus—I won’t make this as long as I do when it’s just me and Jesus alone because I like to take time. I like to be careful never to do anything just out of routine. I believe in discipline, but I try to ensure that whatever I’ve disciplined myself in, I can turn my passion towards that thing so that I am all in. I always want to be all in, no matter what it is.
Jesus, do you need help there, Chris? Those of you at home probably don’t have this problem of trying to get the combination to work here. Jesus broke bread and turned to His disciples and said, «Take and eat; this is my body.» To understand this part—I don’t feel I need to explain it. I just want to honor what He said. He said, «This is my body.» He didn’t say, «This represents my body.» So my approach to this is supposed to be with that kind of reverence, with that kind of value. I don’t need to understand; I don’t need to explain. What I need is to approach this with the value He placed on it. Later in Corinthians, He says many are sick and a number even die because they don’t judge the body correctly. He could have been talking about this; the context could have been talking about this.
So today, we hold in our hands the testimony of His death, the stripes that He bore. When I partake of the bread, I use that moment to declare over myself, my family, and my extended family: «By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed.» I pray for different friends: «By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed.» I’ve taken you through this in times past. Something I added about three or four months ago is that I remembered something from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, where it says Jesus bore in His body the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. He destroyed the power of division with this offering.
So I pray not only for people with sickness or disease, but for any place I know of division. Jesus, You paid more than an adequate price for there to be no division in that situation. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s a family conflict or racial reconciliation that needs to happen. It doesn’t matter what category or how large or small; the payment He made was more than enough.
So I’m going to ask all of you here and all of you at home—we’re going to take maybe two minutes. I want you just to pray for whoever God brings to mind. Here’s what I’m going to have you do: that’s important in my walk. I have to make it a confession: «By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed.» Then I’ll pray for different people. For Cathy Valentin, «By the stripes of Jesus, Cathy Belton was healed.» Eli Spooner was in a very tragic accident last night, and we need to stand in agreement for an absolute creative miracle in his body right now. You have different people on your heart.
Let’s take about two minutes to pray for whoever God brings to mind. You won’t be able to cover everything, but let’s do the best we can in two minutes. Make the confession, and I’m going to ask you to pray this out loud. No one needs to yell, but I want to hear the sound of people before God, honoring the value of His body that has been broken for us. Let’s do that now. I have two minutes: «By Your stripes, I was healed. By Your stripes, by the stripes of Jesus, Almoner A was healed. By the stripes of Jesus, Mary Burke lives in divine health. By the stripes of Jesus, Cathy Val was fully restored. Eli Spooner, fully restored. Jean, fully restored. The entire house, fully restored by the broken body of Jesus. Remember to pray for both division areas and healing areas; declare absolute peace, the peace of God, to overwhelm any broken situations in our community. We declare that the peace of God rules and reigns over all.
And now let me pray over this, and we’ll partake together. I’m glad that these are harlot wafers; the reason is, it’s just a reminder to me. He was broken that I could be whole; He was emptied that I could be full; He was despised that I could be celebrated; He was rejected that I could be embraced; He bore affliction that I could be healed; He became poor that I could become rich. He did everything opposite to launch us into what’s available right now. So let’s just make this decree together: by His stripes, I was healed. I pray for divine health to rest over my household and over our extended church family in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Partake of the bread now. Take the cup. I love this so much; this is why I get to pray for every one of my family members by name. My confession at this point is, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Say that with me: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I want you to declare it like you actually believe this is the gospel truth right here. All right, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Say it again: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Now what I do is I open the cup and hold it before the Lord while I pray for specific family members. You may not be able to pray for everyone; I’m going to give you just a minute or two, but let me tell you what I want you to do.
I would like for you to take a minute to pray for family members by name, and this is what I do: I plead the blood of Jesus over Eric and Candace, over Kennedy and Sailor. This is my prayer from Jeremiah 24: give them a heart to know You. I plead the blood of Jesus over Brian and Jen, over Haley, Taya, Braden, Moses, and the new little one that’s coming because they’re adopting another. I plead the blood of Jesus over them; God, give every one of them a heart to know You. I plead the blood of Jesus over Gabe and Leah, over Judah, Diego, Bella, and Cruz. Give them a heart to know You. I want you to do that first: pray for family members, and then I’ll take you into the next phase. Give them a heart to know You; give every family member dreams in the night, encounters, dreams in the night, divine encounters, prodigal sons, prodigal daughters, prodigal parents, uncles, and aunts. We just declare, come home, come home. I pray that every household here would see salvation extended to neighbors around us, next to us, across the street, behind us. There would be this awakening that would take place in home after home, where the dreams and visions of the man in white would no longer just be in Muslim territory but would actually invade America, have actually invaded our own cities, that people would be awakened in the night with encounters with a man in white.
Now the next thing I do is pray over those who, in my case, have opposed me and spoken against me: videos, books, whatever. I pray for them that they would prosper inside and out, and that they would have the joy of having children and grandchildren that serve Him well, that they would have a rich heritage in Christ. These are all people who confess Christ; well-meaning as they may be, I never have the right to criticize a servant to their master; I will not do that, and so I pray to bless them. For anyone who affected you negatively, take just a moment to pray for them, and then we’re going to share this together. Yes, prosper them inside and out, Lord; set the stage for them to step into why they were born. Let them have the joy of a rich, rich heritage, a family line richly devoted to You. For what it’s worth, I’m always careful to not pray that they would have an encounter with God because I’m not asking to be vindicated; I pray for their blessing in their context. God, choose how You understand what I’m saying. I’m not trying to sneak in my opinion about something; I’m praying for blessing in how they walk.
All right, so the cup before the Lord, let’s make this confession together: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Let’s share this together. Wow, thank you, Lord! I would encourage you that we have a couple of little jars next door, a small couch sitting area, and we have jars with communion supplies in there continuously. We keep it focused for staff members to be able to take communion anytime, and there’s always a number of these cups available. Today, there was only one left, so I think our team has been taking communion more often, which is good news. I want to encourage you; I ordered these little cups on Amazon. I have them at home and take them with me when I travel. It is part of our household routine.
I encourage you guys online to do something; if you want to do the wine and the bread, however, it doesn’t matter. In this season especially, we need to upgrade our focus on the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. It means something; it’s not just about eternity; it’s now, and it must be declared now. What we’re going to do right now is wrap this up, and obviously, you are the ministry team, and at home, you are the ministry team too. I’m going to ask you here, if you want any prayer at all, turn to the person next to you and tell them they are drafted; their assignment is you. Honestly, ask them to pray for you. It may very well be that we have people watching who don’t know the Lord, and I want to take this moment.
Listen, don’t go through life on your own; it’s simply not worth it. Jesus paid a price for your salvation like He did for mine. All of us are saved by the absolute grace of God; none of us earned it. I don’t care what you’ve done; you are being set up in this moment to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. It means you turn from what you’ve been serving to follow Him, and you do what the verse I quoted earlier says: „He who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.“ His name is Jesus. Call upon that name, Jesus, and ask Him for the absolute full forgiveness of sin. Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit. All of our church family at home, now is a great time for you to learn to receive prayer from family members.
If you need a miracle, you can turn to the one next to you unless it’s your son, daughter, spouse, or whatever, but do that. Take advantage and pray. God, give us the courage in this moment not to cower in the face of a virus. No, we come forth. Wash our hands; don’t be foolish. Don’t play with a rattlesnake and call it faith, but please, let’s go after this thing in Jesus' name. Amen. Let’s pray:
Father, we ask that you would take the Army of God, the Bethel family, and every church across this nation and the nations right now, that there would be a supernatural equipping of courage and faith to stand in the face of this virus and say, „Back down, go back to your source,“ in the name of Jesus. The enemy came to kill, steal, and destroy, but not Jesus; Jesus came with abundant life. So we stand in His name and declare the all-sufficiency of Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen.