Bill Johnson - It's All About the One Thing
One of the things we love to do throughout the year, but particularly at Christmas, is help those in some kind of financial crisis. This season, it seems there are more and more people struggling, so we do what we can to ensure they have a special Christmas. I genuinely pray for you and wish we could be together soon—I don’t know when, but it will happen. Specifically, I want to emphasize that the Lord is the provider; He is the one who releases blessings.
I’ll never forget the Sunday we had on Father’s Day. During this day, we typically do something to support single moms. I recall one Sunday in particular when a woman came in with just a few dollars to her name—perhaps three, four, or five dollars. She arrived early with her child and intended to treat herself to a coffee at the local shop. However, as she contemplated her purchase, her heart turned, and she decided she didn’t need the coffee after all but would rather give away what she had.
When the offering time came, she placed what she had—her widow’s mite, if you will—into the offering plate. A few minutes later, unbeknownst to her, I directed the church’s attention to the single moms, prayed for them, and then individuals began giving generously. That week, she put in approximately four or five dollars, and by the end of the service, she received over four hundred dollars in return. Imagine the impact that made on her heart when she chose to give and witnessed the Lord’s quick return.
We celebrate these kinds of things, and I agree with Amy in the offering reading; I do pray for you. We constantly pray for open heavens for all of you and the businesses. Some have experienced suffering during this time, while others have not, but we all have opinions about everything. I’ve discovered that the spirit of offense is more prevalent right now, and you can attract those negative feelings for the price of one. The most common thing I’ve seen in the past year is this rampant spirit of offense. I may contribute to that dialogue, but I’ll just make a couple of comments and let you sort it out.
We’ve been shut down from corporate meetings for some time, but as a ministry, we haven’t been completely inactive. Goodness knows I’ve been as busy as ever, especially at home with less travel—which I appreciate. But I want to make a couple of comments; these are not official opinions but simply my perspective. We are not closed down because we fear a disease; it is genuinely real, and I don’t want to disrespect that as I have friends who have died from it due to preexisting conditions. I recognize its reality; I have friends who have suffered tremendously.
It’s like a hot stove: I’m not going to touch it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have a stove if that makes sense. We are not shut down because I personally fear this disease; I’m not requiring anyone to feel the same way. We are not closed due to government restrictions; this may cause offense, yet I honor, love, pray for, and serve the authorities. However, they endorse abortion and are not always correct; they are human. I must obey the Lord over government restrictions.
We are closed because we love our city. That’s the entirety of it. To close down corporate gatherings in a local church for nine months is an unusual sacrifice, but it’s out of love for our city—not because we think meeting would hurt it but because our city interprets it as a love gift. Even those who disagree with us, it doesn’t matter; public opinion doesn’t guide this movement. It is genuinely our offering to the city we love.
It’s been nine months, and the gestation period is about to conclude. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but when it does, we will witness the birth of something fresh and powerful. The Lord is going to honor this peculiar offering. Some of you have faced forced closures, while others have wholly supported the corporate decisions we’ve made as leadership. I sense the mixed feelings; goodness, ask me in the morning, and I may feel differently from the night before.
Like everyone here, I have my thoughts and opinions on everything happening, but at the end of the day, our opinions don’t carry weight—what truly matters is what God is saying. That’s what we work hard to discover: the heartbeat of God and how to honor Him in everything we do. One person may eat meat while another does not in an effort to honor God, requiring us to create flexibility in our approach to honoring the Lord.
This is the stand we’ve taken. I sense the labor pains; we are indeed about to conclude the nine months. I may be prophesying, but I’m not giving dates; I won’t try to predict anything. All right, that’s enough. I’ve made a big enough hole to crawl out of.
Now I want to talk to you about one of my favorite parts of the Christmas story. This has been on my mind for a couple of weeks—sometimes I lack that clarity in advance, but this has really been on my heart. I want to discuss a part of the story found in the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke chapter 2, focusing on Anna and Simeon. These two are sometimes unsung heroes of the incredible Christmas narrative, and their story profoundly impacts me.
We all possess a history with God through the Word, and certain revelations serve as our point of reference; they guide our responses to life. Sometimes we sanitize the scripture to a fault, robbing ourselves of the wonder of what it would have been like to walk in their shoes. I need to set the stage for their story—this might sound a little strange, but hopefully, it will make sense by the end.
I want to begin by reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, where I reference a verse a couple of times a year because it deeply resonated with me when I discerned what the Lord was conveying. The context in the Sermon on the Mount addresses our response to money. Let me make this statement: fear, worry, and anxiety are emotions meant to distract us from our purpose and, ultimately, redirect our affections toward something inferior. Fear and anxiety, alongside greed and lust, are merely distractions.
In this passage, Jesus discusses where your heart is and emphasizes that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. He isn’t negating the value of money; he’s addressing the heart—what your heart focuses on. Fear is as detrimental as greed; both are attempts to divert my attention from my one true focus.
If the enemy cannot sway me from immorality to immorality, he will at least try to muddy my moral convictions with too many distractions, rendering me ineffective. For example, I hold strong convictions about abortion; it is wrong, just as sacrificing children to Molech was, and the enemy cannot sway me on that issue. But he can attempt to divert my focus and keep me distracted from truly representing Christ in various matters.
Right now, we’re in a tumultuous environment; there are more distractions than ever before. I feel the weight of that. I’m not merely talking about political or racial issues; I’m discussing the very nature of our culture inundated with the opinions of others.
I enjoy social media—being able to find information, personal interests, and endless topics at my fingertips is a marvel. However, the issue lies in how we often measure ourselves by likes and approval, creating a system wherein we rely on others' opinions for our decisions. This subtle shift impacts a generation trained on that value system.
Let’s get to the scripture, as I want to talk about this specific verse in the context of money. Often, Jesus reveals a principle applicable across various subjects. In Matthew chapter 6, verse 22 states that the lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
This deserves greater attention than I can provide here because I wish to transition into the Christmas story with something I hope will encourage you. If your eye is focused on one voyage—this singular goal—your whole body will be filled with light. I believe that being distracted from God’s calling affects us emotionally, contributing to issues surrounding greed and lust, as well as fear and anxiety.
These things contradict our affections for the Lord. A crucial point is that if the body’s lamp is the eye, and if your eye is set on this single voyage, it will lead to profound fulfillment.
In Scripture, David expresses a desire to «see Him» in the temple forever, showcasing his longing for the single focus we should all have. That singular passion allows us to serve Him wholeheartedly and equips us in all aspects of our lives—whether as fathers, grandfathers, pastors, or whatever roles we may occupy.
Solomon is one of my heroes from scripture. As a young man, Solomon became king and realized his need for God. He went to bed, and in a dream, God appeared to him, prompting a dialogue. This profound moment underscores how God engages with us, even in our subconscious state. The divine trust in Solomon stemmed from his awareness of his need for wisdom to lead God’s people well.
When we look at Luke chapter 2, starting at verse 25, we see Simeon, a man in Jerusalem waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Christ. He came into the temple guided by the Spirit. When Mary and Joseph brought in the child Jesus, he took the child in his arms, blessed God, and proclaimed God’s salvation to Israel and the Gentiles.
Then Anna, a prophetess, arrives—she devoted her life to fasting and prayer in the temple. She recognized the significance of the child, giving thanks to the Lord and speaking to all who awaited Israel’s redemption.
The key takeaway from Simeon and Anna’s story is that the more focused you are on why you’re alive, the less it takes to encourage you. Years ago, I read an article by a military sniper. The sniper’s focus is remarkable; they might take days to crawl into a position, enduring discomfort for the sake of the mission. This intense focus allows them to notice the slightest shifts in their environment.
When you live with purpose, even minor signals of God’s activity can bring immense encouragement. It’s about refining our souls—understanding our true calling and the one thing we are meant to champion in our lifetimes. Anna and Simeon lived amid a lack of prophetic guidance yet devoted themselves wholly to one goal: they longed for Israel’s redemption.
In this chaotic period, I urge you to reflect on why you are living. Embrace that singular focus, and allow it to serve as your guiding light. God wants to illuminate every aspect of your life through the lens of your purpose. I perceive that in this unique season, the Lord is beckoning us to hone in on that one thing—to simplify, refine, focus, and madly fall in love with Him.
This Christmas, as we navigate through these challenges, I pray for you to be surprised by joy and for each of you to experience encouragement amid the uncertainty of life. Merry Christmas! Love you all so much.