Bill Johnson - The Love of God
Happy Easter Resurrection Sunday! My goodness, Paul kind of summarized the whole thing about resurrection. He said if there’s no resurrection, then we’re still in our sins. If there’s no resurrection, he went on to say, we are the people who are most to be pitied. Literally everything about our life, everything about our hope, everything about eternity is represented and dealt with in the death and resurrection of Christ. What an amazing time to be alive! I was looking over some of the memes on social media, and I don’t know how many of you ever look at those things, but Benny has quite a few funny ones on her site. She has medical people write to her and thank her for bringing some fun to the whole story. I don’t know which one of these is my favorite, but I have quite a few that I think are hilarious.
One is about an 8-year-old child being homeschooled by his mom. He writes, «It’s not going well. My mom is getting stressed out. My mom is really confused. We took a break so my mom can figure this stuff out, and I’m telling you it’s not going well.» That’s exactly how it would be if I were in charge! Another guy says, «I’m starting to understand why pets try to run out of the house when the front door opens.» Another one says, «I spent 75% of my childhood grounded; this quarantine is cake.» So funny! I’ll do two more. «I don’t think anyone expected that when we changed the clocks earlier this month, we’d go from Standard Time to Twilight Zone.» That’s funny! Well, I have so many more; there are so many good ones! My mom always told me I wouldn’t amount to anything lying on the couch, and yet here I am saving the world! I’ve got to find one more—one more! Oh yeah, «I ate 11 times and took five naps, and it’s still today!»
Oh my goodness, many people can relate to all of that! Well, bless you! I hope that the quarantine time for all of you, wherever you are in the world, is going well. It really is; we’ve heard from so many different streams and parts of the body of Christ that they feel this is a time of global reset, where we are literally resetting the values that we live by. I know that many who are watching would say, «There are no values I need to change; I was doing everything right before,» and amen to that! But even when I meet my best, I find that in times of crisis or difficulty, it’s an opportunity to refine my focus. Any time we refine our focus, we’re able to give ourselves even more completely to the things that are truly important.
So, what I want to discuss today is from the book of Romans. It’s maybe a little different portion concerning Easter, but then again, it isn’t! Romans chapter eight is where I want to go. We’re going to end the message today with communion, so if you haven’t already got the bread and the wine or juice, do so quickly because I want to conclude with this. I believe many people are going to come to Jesus today. We have found that tens of thousands of people are watching this gathering, and I really do pray that Jesus would bring life to people. That’s why we’re here. Jesus is called, in fact, the scripture declares that Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the world.
Think about this: Jesus Christ was crucified before the foundations of the world! Just think with me—Jesus Christ was so committed to this thing called the cross that he was all-in before time was made and before all of creation, which means before there was sin, Jesus had already given himself to be the solution. God created us and gave humanity this priceless gift called free will, and when he did so, he took a risk, knowing that there would be a point in time when humanity would choose not to serve him. But it was worth the risk because he was willing to give his son to restore those who would believe in his son, to bring them back to the family and to a place of faith. In that relationship, it was literally worth the suffering; it was worth the pain. No pain, no gain!
If anybody could say that, it would be the Heavenly Father, the Father of life, the one who spoke all things into being, the one who is the Father of our faith. He determined that before sin ever entered the world, He was willing to give the sacrifice that was necessary to restore us. Such an extraordinary Father, such a great Father! The verse that is so well-known that even people who don’t know the Lord can quote it stands out for this reason: it is the absolute cornerstone of our faith. It is John 3:16: «For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, His only beloved Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.»
That is the gift, the reason for the season, so to speak; that is the reason for this gathering that we do today and really for the celebration we have all across the world of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus gave Himself to die in my place so that I could receive the life that He deserves. Jesus became a man. It is an interesting thing; He took on flesh; He became a human being. One of the great mysteries in Scriptures is that He is 100% God while at the same time being 100% man. In His humanity, He gave Himself to live life with absolute purity. The Bible says He faced every temptation the same as we do, except He was without sin, which qualified Him to be a lamb that was spotless.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were to sacrifice a sheep, a lamb that had no spot or blemish, which would postpone the penalty of sin for one more year. But it never dealt with the reality of sin; only the blood of the Son of God could take care of that. If there were another way, believe me, God would have chosen another. But the only possible way was that we were lost in sin, so He sent His Son to be one of us, enduring what we endure, except without sin, which qualifies Him to be the offering in our place. As we like to say, He died as us; He died in our place, taking upon Himself what we deserved so that we could receive what He deserved—eternal life.
In Romans chapter 8, there is this most astonishing portion of Scripture. Many of you will recognize Romans 8 because of verse 28, which says, «We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.» This is something that we hold on to every time we encounter difficulty. The only reason a verse like this needs to be stated is that not everything is going to go perfectly the first time we address a problem or position ourselves for victory. We need to have an assurance that creates in us a willingness to endure because God will reverse the effects of something into a place of personal victory.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. If everything worked perfectly the first time we tried something, we wouldn’t need a promise like this. We need it because we need to know that endurance is worth it, as it always ends for His glory and for our benefit, for our strength. But I want you to start with me actually in verse 31. We’re going to read quite a few verses, so if you would follow along, please. It is such a declaration about the resurrection of Christ, and there are a couple of things that I want to make sure we pick up from this portion of Scripture that can help us. Okay, so verse 31: «What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all—how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?»
Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God and who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Or can we add «pandemic»? As it is written, «For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.» Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What an extraordinary portion of Scripture!
I want us to walk through these verses, but I first want to declare something over you: all of this is about the love of God. All of this, all of this, the resurrection, the fact that He made us members of one another, that He gave us the promise of eternity— all of this is about the demonstration, the experience, the realization of the love of God in our lives. We sing songs and, excuse me, make declarations like «It’s all about You,» which is right, and we talk about worshiping for the audience of One—it’s an appropriate response. But it might be interesting to know that when He says it’s all about you, He was so completely enthralled, captivated, and focused on saving the individual. He didn’t just do a group project; He didn’t just buy us by the dozen.
What He did was so intimate and so personal that you can see Him face to face with you, saying, «You’re worth dying for.» That’s the reality of the cross and the reality of the resurrection. It says here, «If God is for us, who can be against us?» In verse 31, He’s not saying nobody can be against us; He’s just saying anyone who’s against us doesn’t get to vote. They don’t have a say in the outcome of things. If God is for us, who can be against us? Think about this with me: anyone who sees you the way the Father sees you would never be against you. Anyone who is in opposition to you, anyone who for whatever reason has picked you out as a target to insult, reject, or hurt—none of them see you the way the Father does, because everyone who sees you through the eyes of the Father is for you. So He says, «If God is for us, who can be against us? No one! No one!»
He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? I’ll be honest with you: that verse is the reason I felt I was to bring this portion of Scripture to us today. That verse, if God went to such an extreme by giving us His Son, how could we ever question Him not delightfully, willingly, joyfully providing everything else we will ever need—not only now in this life but throughout all of eternity? He will! He set the extreme standard with the sacrifice of His Son, and then everything else is automatically included. It’s important that you and I think that way. It’s important that we realize that in this love of God—one that you could never exhaust, one you could never explore in its entirety—it will be continuously opened up to us in new levels throughout all eternity, and we will never exhaust it.
That love of God is 100% focused on you, on your family, on your situation, on me, right now. He goes on and says, «Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?» Do you understand that there is no one who has the authority to stand before the Father to accuse you? The devil is called the accuser of the brethren, but he doesn’t have a hall pass there. He doesn’t have the legal right to bring any kind of accusation against you, and the reason is your lawyer is Jesus, and He Himself has already taken care of every legitimate indictment against you. God’s forgiveness is so complete. It’s so complete! We’ll look at a little bit further in this chapter, but it is so absolute and so complete that He actually changes how He sees us.
The blood of Jesus has made me clean! The blood of Jesus not only deals with the record of sin; the blood of Jesus goes to the root and changes the nature that that sin grew out of. It is that complete. So when the Father looks at you, every one of you who have surrendered your life to Jesus, who have put your faith in Christ and have declared Him to be your absolute Lord and Master—every one of you—the Father looks at you and sees His Son, Jesus. No one can accuse Jesus; therefore, no one has the right to accuse you.
Verse 34: «Who is he who condemns?» It’s Christ who died, and furthermore is risen, who’s at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. I had a conversation with my uncle, who is now at home in heaven. He was such a wonderful man, a wonderful man of God, David Morton. I had a conversation with him quite a few years ago, and he was talking to me about this chapter. He would memorize entire books of the Bible, and so when we had conversations, he had such depth of understanding of these portions of Scripture. We were talking about Romans 8 once, and he said, «I found out why verse 28 is real.» What does it say? It says, «All things work together for good.»
Why can we say all things work together for good? We’ll take a quick look at the last part of verse 26; it says the Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession for us. Then, jump over here to the end of verse 34; it says Jesus also makes intercession for us. So, here we have the Holy Spirit and the Son of God interceding before the Father on our behalf. Sandwiched between these two realities, these two great intercessors, is the promise that everything works together for good. Our confidence in God resolving every situation for His glory has nothing to do with our great faith, skill, gifts, ministry, or whatever you want to add to it. It has everything to do with the fact that the Holy Spirit intercedes and Jesus intercedes. No wonder all things work together for good. I sometimes jokingly talk about praying in the Spirit, which is such a wonderful privilege.
All the gifts of the Spirit are to enable us to serve others, except for that one particular gift that brings edification to us. But I have jokingly talked about praying to God, saying, «Oh God, I need a 700-horsepower Corvette; that’s really what I need.» I then followed that prayer by praying in tongues, and the Holy Spirit prays to Him, saying, «Man, don’t give him that Corvette; he’ll kill himself if he has a car like that.» The Holy Spirit always prays with such precision and accuracy that it’s a glorious thing to join our faith in prayer in the Holy Spirit; He intercedes for us. And here, Jesus also intercedes for us. Then, from that place of those two interceding for us, He moves into these decrees of what exists that can separate us from the love of God.
Look at it here in verse 35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril? Perhaps we could call pandemic peril a sword, as it is written, «For Your sake, we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for slaughter.» Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors. Do you remember in Joel it says, «Let the weak say, 'I am strong'»? It’s really important that we manage what comes out of our mouths. It’s important that we don’t talk out of the flimsiness of our emotional lives, which are up and down. It’s important that we don’t craft our conversation according to circumstances that one day are extraordinary and the next day are very challenging and difficult. It’s important that we design our decree out of what God says: «Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'»
So in our greatest point of frustration, difficulty, or weakness, we make this bold confession: «I am strong. I am strong because I am in Christ. I am strong because Christ is in me.» We make these confessions. Here’s another one: «We are more than conquerors.» I am more than a conqueror. I’m not just victorious; I am a happy, victorious person. I am above and beyond a conqueror. Why? Because we are riding along on the absolute victory of Christ in His death and in His resurrection. His resurrection becomes my resurrection; no wonder I’m more than a conqueror. I would encourage you to say that even over yourself, even right now: «I am more than a conqueror. I’m a conqueror beyond; I am above and beyond what a conqueror looks like. I’m a victor in the victory of Christ.»
«For I am persuaded», verse 38, «Neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ, the love of Jesus our Lord.» Two things I want to talk about here before we wrap this up and share communion: First is the very end of verse 38; it says things present and things to come. There’s another place in 1 Corinthians 3, I believe it is, where he talks about things present and things to come. There was an intentional omission by God in those two verses regarding things present and things to come. What didn’t He mention? He didn’t mention the past. Why? Because the past has been purchased; it’s covered in blood and we have no legal access to it apart from the blood of Jesus.
Think about the fact that I have no legal right to yesterday because it’s been bought. I have a right to tomorrow to pray into what I expect and what I believe for. I own today. The Bible talks about us as being very present and timely stewards of this moment. I believe in that, but yesterday has been purchased, and it is under the blood of Jesus. Atonement means to cover; it is under, and it is out of reach. So for me to dwell on the difficulties and failures of yesterday, apart from the blood of Jesus, is futile. If there’s anything in the past that I have truly repented of and forgiven to Jesus, it then becomes out of my reach. Yet here is another testimony of the grace of God: if He delivered me from this, He caused me to triumph even as a result of failure, turning it into success and breakthrough.
I want to encourage you: the present and future you own; we own; He owns the past. Don’t touch it; trust Him with your past. Then we come down to this last part: neither height nor depth nor any created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God. This entire narrative culminates in this concluding statement. The whole dialogue here is about our awareness and experience in the love of God. There’s a passage here that has been of personal importance to me for many years, and it’s actually found in the book of Jude. I want you to hear this verse: «Keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.» Keep yourself in the love of God. Three verses later, it says, «Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling.»
There’s a connection there: keep yourself in the love of God; now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Everything the enemy throws at us—whether it’s a pandemic, job loss, family conflict, or someone who doesn’t like you anymore—are all attempts to disengage us from the love of God, to somehow shut off our awareness of this one who loves us so completely and fully. The enemy works through difficulty, accusation, and temptation to disengage us from the love of God. So here He says, «Keep yourself in the love of God.» Listen to this: it’s the greatest reality in your life. Usually, I say «us,» but let’s just pretend you and I are head to head, nose to nose, and I want to get something across.
The greatest reality in your life is the love of God, and if you’re not aware of it, then you’re aware of too many other things. The single greatest reality in every person’s life is this unimaginable, incomprehensible, extreme expression of the love of God that is reserved just for you. To not live aware of it is to live aware of something inferior in its place. Everything in life is to be measured by this most important thing. What did He say earlier? If He gave you His Son, if He went to that kind of extreme, surely He would provide everything else for you that is less than that. If He went that far… Well, here we are. If the love of God is that extreme, and it’s just for you and for me, then that greatest reality of everything in existence needs to be dwelt upon; otherwise, I will fall for things that are inferior. The greatest things redefine everything else. This has to be our focus: «Keep yourself in the love of God.»
Let me tell you, it is possible for you to keep yourself in the love of God as much as it is possible for you to keep yourself in the kitchen, bedroom, or living room. It truly is a choice. Why? Because this word is living. We’re not looking at just ink on paper; we’re looking at something that flowed from the heart of a loving Father who gave us the gift of Scriptures that come alive and feed our soul. One only needs to prioritize the things that are more true than every other problem. The accusations mean nothing because there is no one who has the right to accuse me. There is no one who has the right to steal from me—no one. Everything else becomes subject to this one primary truth.
And so we keep ourselves in the bedroom or keep ourselves in this case in the love of God. What does it mean? It means I stop, ponder, and think for God, my heavenly Father, the Father of life, the Father of all creation. He was so in love with me, so infatuated with me, and so hopeful for what I could become. He was so caught up in His imagination for me that He was willing to go through the pain of the loss of His own Son, His own beloved Son, His only beloved Son. He was willing to do that because of the hope He had for me, and He laid down the life of His own Son, knowing that He would, in fact, raise Him from the dead also for our benefit. This wonderful Father did all of that so that I could do one simple thing: believe. So that everyone would believe in Him, and in the moment I believe, I’m given eternity, everlasting life. You take moments in your day, and you just stop. You just stop.
Sometimes we go so fast it’s hard for the love of God to catch up with us. We’ve got to stop being anxious; we’ve got to stop being divided; we’ve got to stop being distracted. Reduce things. This is a reset that God is gifting us with, a reset. I remember Brian, my son, wrote in this book that we should never feel bad. In fact, he put it this way: consider it a gift when all you have—when your only option is God. Many of you are at that point right now, where you face the realization that the only one who can turn this situation around for you is God. That’s not a bad thing; that’s a gift. Consider it a gift. So here we are in this moment that God has chosen to use for His glory and for our benefit, to position us for the true advancement of the gospel, the advancement of the strength of every single household that is watching.
Those of you who have lost jobs, we pray and decree that a better one would come along. To those of you who haven’t lost various things throughout this process, businesses or whatever, that it would be even better as the economy is restored. The resurrection power would actually hit the economy of the nations of the world. We pray this for the glory of God, that we can be even better suited this time, not driven this time, not anxious to perform, not driven by the need to succeed, but instead, driven by the love of God, the infatuation of keeping ourselves in the love of God, because He keeps us in a place of continual victory and triumph. I pray that for you; I prophesy that to you. Keep yourself in the love of God.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, with hilarity and absolute extreme delight—to our God and Savior, who alone is wise, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power both now and forever. Wow, this entire day is about this one thought: the resurrection of Jesus was filled; it was for you. Had there been only one human being on the planet, and that one person was you, everything Jesus went through, He would have gone through for you, for me. Every one of us is going to share in communion, which is becoming more important to me all the time.
So if you could grab the elements, please. I know that in various traditions, the elements are to be passed out by certain qualified leaders, but join with us anyway in this time. I will ask Jesus to bless this in your hands. Jesus, on that Passover night, He took bread, and He broke it. He took the loaf and He broke it. He made this statement: I don’t understand this, but I love the stuff I don’t understand. I don’t want to explain it too quickly, because I know I’ll get it wrong. He said He broke the bread and He gave it to His disciples, saying, «Take, eat; this is my body.» He didn’t say, «This represents my body.» Now, a lot of people are trying to figure out what that looks like. I don’t know what it looks like; all I know is He said, «Take this. It’s my body.»
Later, He says a number get sick and die and have all kinds of weakness and struggles because they don’t discern the body correctly. So what if we did this? If we took that bread and we held it, some of you, your own tradition has taught you well in this, and you already approach the bread and the cup as the body and blood of Jesus. But many of us have come out of a tradition that says it represents. I’ll let the theologians figure it out. I just want to run with what Jesus said. He said, «Take, eat; this is my body.» So what does it mean to judge the body correctly? Well, it can mean one of two things. I personally think it means both. One is that I come to this moment with the same respect as though this were the body of Jesus that I hold in my hand. Number two, I come to you as members of the body of Christ with the same respect as I would the bread that is the broken body of Jesus.
There’s a divine health in that equation now. When I take the bread, Benny and I do it often, many times throughout the week. When I take the bread, I break it because I remind myself that His flesh was torn; His body was broken. We sang it today: His body was broken. I like to take the bread and break it, making this confession over my life, over Benny, over my immediate family, and over people I know and care for who are really struggling. This is what I do: the torn flesh of Jesus represents the stripes He bore. The scripture says, «By His stripes, we were healed.» By His stripes, the payment was made. From that, I get to experience now, in the same way my sin was atoned for 2,000 years ago. Today, I experience the liberty and freedom of forgiveness.
So when I take this cup and this bread, I encourage you to make this confession with me: «By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed.» And then I want to take a moment to clarify; some of you are struggling with this pandemic. You’ve been hit with this disease. I’ve got a couple of friends who almost lost their lives, but the Lord had mercy on them, and they are thriving today. I’m so thankful, and I just announce that over you: this is a divine moment. Take the bread and declare over your own body, over your own flesh: «By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed.» Then put on your lips the name of a friend, someone you know and care for. For me, it’s Cathy Valentin, Allen Ray—divine healing into their bodies, restoration of what the enemy has stolen. Mark Cooper, by the stripes of Jesus, you are healed. I take this bread and make that proclamation. Do it yourself; just take the bread and say, «Jesus, I know that the price You paid was more than enough.»
I declare healing right now in Jesus' name, and mention her name. Now let’s receive this bread with the same majesty, honor, and respect we would if we were holding in our hands the body of Jesus. Another cup, the blood. I know that earlier, I encouraged people to write in the chat that they want to receive Christ. If there’s anyone in this moment who has never surrendered their life to Jesus, do it right now—this moment is for you. Today is the beginning of eternity for you: a life of forgiveness, a life of freedom, a life of learning to walk with Jesus for His honor and glory. You hold in your hand a cup that Jesus looked at and said, «This is My blood.»
Here’s the deal: without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin, no forgiveness. It required this; this covers sin. I like to make several confessions as I pray over my household and my family. I like to decree, «The blood of Jesus sets me free.» I make that proclamation throughout the day at any given time, just walking around my property: «The blood of Jesus sets me free.» It’s important that we say these truths; it’s important that we hear ourselves saying them. But it’s also important that we speak it into the cities and neighborhoods we live in: «The blood of Jesus sets me free.» But here’s what I also like to do: I like to plead the blood of Jesus.
See the blood of Jesus poured out over every single family member of mine. I pray for my children, their amazing spouses, and my grandchildren. I bring them all before the Lord by name and pray that God would protect them inside and out, spirit, soul, and body. They would be safe and have deep encounters with Him, and that God would give them a hunger to know Him as mentioned in Jeremiah 24, that He would give them a heart to know Him. I pray for every single family member in that way. I want to ask you to do that right now; just take the cup, hold it before the Lord, and declare over your family that the blood of Jesus sets us free. Bring their names before the Lord; I plead the blood of Jesus over my life. Some of you have children who have wandered away from the Lord; some of you have parents who have never walked with the Lord. But today is your day. I want you to make the decree. I just join the name of John with the Lord Jesus Christ and say, «Father, bring him home. Bring him to faith.»
Hold that cup before the Lord and take just a few seconds to mention the names of your family members and make that decree. I plead the blood of Jesus over them. Thank you, Father. So, this is my big confession that I make when I hold the cup before the Lord: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That’s my decree; I prophesy in my house, my bedroom, my kitchen—wherever I’m at. I promise that if I’m out on the property, sometimes I’ll take communion as I walk on the land and just prophesy and declare: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Every single family member has been set aside by the grace of God to serve Him well. I want you to do that right now: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Amen.
This receives the blood of Jesus now. Wow! It’s the meal of absolute victory; it’s the meal of absolute triumph. I pray that today would be the day where God initiates a series of encounters. Some of you have been tormented by things you’ve given place to; fear has been robbing you, and I believe Jesus wants to set you free from that fear. It is talked about in Romans 8—all these things that are trying to separate us from the love of God. They don’t have the authority unless you and I agree with them in fear, and we just say no to that right now.
Some of you watching have hidden addictions and a heartfelt desire to be free. Listen, just take it, bring it before the Lord, and say, «I want liberty; I want to be free from this.» Bring it before the Lord; I believe there’s going to be mighty deliverance for you. As a note, Chris Belton has made his book, Spirit Wars, available as an e-book for free. I want to encourage you; we have tens of thousands of believers all over the world who will watch this service. I want to encourage you to take advantage of this moment because there is such insight there about your own freedom, your own deliverance, and your own liberty. Let me pray for you, and then we’ll end this, all right? Father, I thank you for the power of deliverance, the power of salvation. I thank you for the blood of Jesus and the broken body of Jesus. We just give you thanks, but I ask right now that liberty and freedom would be the testimony of the day, and we celebrate together the resurrection of Jesus. Amen.