Bill Johnson - The Promise of Peace
Thank you, Bethel family. Blessings to you, and much love and ongoing blessings to Eric and Candace. I’m truly grateful. This is more challenging than you may imagine, but we are going to do well. I want you to notice the picture behind me; all those orange trees are evergreens. So, either they were photoshopped, or they are dying. It’s a beautiful color contrast; all the dark green trees in the middle are the kind that turn orange, but they are green. I thought it would help me communicate this to you because it’s so important.
Alright, help me out here—open your Bibles. This helps me; trust me, work with me here. Open your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 29. We won’t be quick to make plans; we want to savor the moment because we want to make sure we honor those who are due it and express our absolute thanks and celebration for who Eric and Candace are and all they’ve done. This will be a very tender season, and we will be very open and upfront with you about what’s going on and when, but we will be carefully communicating this next season to you.
For me, there’s not been a stranger season in my life—it’s the most challenging in many ways. To be honest, the pandemic has nothing to do with it; it’s merely a nuisance. Forgive me; I know it’s more than a nuisance for so many who have suffered deeply, but for my own experience, it has not been the cause of my most challenging season. Instead, it’s just there as a constant reminder. The political climate of the nation will settle here soon, but we have that swirling around us, and now we have our own world; it’s like the perfect storm in which Jesus himself will show up, and only he will get the glory. None of our success has come because anyone was smart or unusually anointed; it’s simply the grace of God. I’m very thankful for that.
I’ve had this chapter on my mind for months, and I’m going to talk to you from Jeremiah chapter 29 and try to reaffirm a phrase that has been used a lot. Benny, I think she started it for us several years ago—"God’s got this.» Others have picked it up; there are t-shirts, mugs, and all kinds of paraphernalia to remind us that «God’s got this.» However, I want to read the verse that most of you probably know by heart—verse 11.
I want to read it, but then we’ll go back and look at the context. I do want to give you a brief but important teaching or decree about this season we are in. Verse 11 is the verse that most people know: «For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,» says the Lord, «thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.»
Look at it again: «I know the thoughts that I think toward you,» says the Lord, «thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.» This verse is a broad-reaching promise of the Lord; it’s quoted often by preachers over the years, and rightly so. It’s one of those gems tucked away in a difficult setting, and I’m so thankful for this decree that the Lord makes: «I know the thoughts that I think about you. They’re not thoughts for your calamity but for your blessing, for your welfare.» Interestingly, this word «peace» in this passage is also translated as «prosperity.» It translates as «health,» signifying overall well-being. This is what God’s mind is on regarding us, even in the middle of the situation we’re in.
We can describe it through the political climate of the country, the pandemic, or the extremely sad departure and transition in the Bethel world. Many of you, in your personal lives, have things completely unrelated to what I’ve mentioned going on at home. It may be a business that’s struggling. The point is we’re going to read a context here that can give us wonderful hope. If you know anything about how I function, I run— I don’t walk— to the promises of the Lord. I run to ask, «What has God spoken to me? What has He deposited in my heart about this season?»
Most people would do well if they just returned to the last thing God told them, but often, due to anxiety, fear, and all the junk in our lives, we tend to drop the things God has given us. We can’t afford to do that right now; there’s too much swirling around. I want to ask you—in this moment, we must return to the strongest absolutes in our lives. That is this: «I know the thoughts I have towards you,» says the Lord—a Father, a perfect Father who is wonderfully good.
It was that one theme that brought Jesus to earth to take on flesh, to take on the cross, and to raise again. Everything He did was to reveal the Father. This isn’t a side issue; it’s the core issue. It’s all about the Fatherhood of God in your life and mine. Right now, I’m going to emphasize being a son, a child—not the leader. I’m taking that hat off; I’m wearing the hat of a child who needs the Father.
Here’s what I want to ask you to do: we’re going to read about ten verses, so hang in there. I’ll make three concluding thoughts, and then we’ll wrap this up together. We’ll start with verse 4: «Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon.»
Stop right there. Please notice this wonderful promise where God says, «I know the thoughts I have toward you» was to a group of people who were in captivity; they were imprisoned in another nation. «Build houses,» verse 5, «and dwell in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters, that you may increase there and not diminish.»
So, the word of the Lord was: you’re in captivity, but if you do this My way, you’ll thrive there. What you think is destroying your life is actually going to be the platform for your greatest promotion. We’ve got to repent and shift—change the way we think and perceive these situations. «You may be increased there and not diminished.»
Verse 7: «And seek the peace of the city.» This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, as I’ll never forget when it hit me about 30, 35 years ago in Weaverville. We began to focus on prayer for the benefit of our city and not thinking it’s us and them. This word «peace» is one of the places; I think it’s in the New American Standard where it says, «Seek for the prosperity of the city.»
Let me read it that way: «Seek the prosperity of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace—or in its prosperity—you will have prosperity.» There’s something profound about this. In fact, if you’re taking notes, write down 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1 through 4, because in that passage is a directive in prayer that was to bring the people of God into an abundance of peace and impact on culture itself.
It’s the most unusual parallel between this chapter and that one. «For in its peace, you will have peace.» Verse 8: «For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets or your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.»
It’s a profound lesson by itself. I believe that the Lord speaks to us through dreams. I’ve had critical times in my life where the Lord has inspired dreams that provided good insights. Things I didn’t know how to address became clear upon waking. The Lord has affirmed me in dreams, but when we hold onto our agendas and refuse to yield to God’s purposes, that bent or desire in us can create dreams that appear prophetic but are not from the Lord at all; they’re the offspring of our own unyielded desires. I strongly believe in the dream life and that the Lord speaks throughout Scripture and in my own experience, but just understand that walking with a yielded heart to the purposes of the Lord positions us to have divine dreams.
Look at the last part of verse 8: «Nor listen to your dreams, which you cause to be dreamed, for they prophesy falsely to you in My name. I have not sent them,» says the Lord. «For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,» says the Lord, «thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.»
«Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart, and I will be found by you,» says the Lord.
Look at verse 13 again, as we wrap up the reading with this: «You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.» It’s interesting; Jesus used similar language in the Gospel of John where He said, «I will make Myself conspicuous.» In other words, as you’re walking down the road looking for Me, I’m going to jump right in the middle of your path and do something like this so you can’t miss Me.
We have that kind of Father who wants to be known and discovered by His own. Every person watching this, whether you’re part of the Bethel family and this news is as devastating to you as it is to me, or you’re a guest with no history, the Lord makes a covenantal promise to you. He says that if you search for Him with all your heart, you’ll find Him. He makes sure that He is in the middle of whatever road you’re walking down, and you will discover Him.
There will be that encounter that changes everything. Our life as disciples of Jesus is hinged upon encountering Him; it’s not peripheral, nor an addition—it is life. His voice brings us life; we live because He speaks. This word is the living word of God; He communicates in it and through it, and He enhances and adds strength and life to us to carry out His purposes.
This grand promise that God gives—"I know the thoughts that I think toward you; the thoughts I have for you are thoughts of your welfare, not your calamity"—to give you a future and a hope, came at the most unexpected and awkward time. It’s the mercy of the Lord that, regardless of whatever hellhole you may think you’re in right now, if you calm your heart and turn to the Word of God, He will speak and bring a promise that is so opposite to your surroundings it will stun you.
Imagine being carried away captive, not willingly but unwillingly, and bound, taken to another nation where you are subservient to a ruling class of people. You are prisoners there, and the Lord comes to you when all you can see are restrictions, restraints, and problems. All you remember is what you left behind, what you lost, how it could have been, the promises that didn’t come to pass; you have everything swirling around you.
And the Lord steps into the chaos and says, «I want you to know what I’m thinking about. I’m thinking really good thoughts about you, and it’s about your welfare; it’s actually about your prosperity. I have many plans. I daydream about you and think about these difficult moments. But if you take just a moment, you’ll rediscover the promise of the Lord.»
I remind you of that poignant Psalm—the 23rd Psalm. He says, «I prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies.» Think through that; a table is a place of exchange, of fellowship, of nourishment. The Lord says, «I prepare this place of personal strength and personal encounter in the midst of your enemies.» Oftentimes, we are overly mindful of what’s not right and lose sight of the fact that the Lord put a table right in the middle of the most unexpected place.
We find it again in Jeremiah 29: «I know the thoughts I have toward you. They’re thoughts of your blessing, your prosperity. I’ll bring you into wholeness. You won’t miss a thing; I’ll bring you back.»
Then He says, «Be careful. Don’t listen to those who announce that God is not in this. He has arranged this for you; He’s not the God of calamity. He isn’t the God who creates viruses or all this chaos, but He is still God in the midst of it. What’s important for us is not to fight—this may sound awkward—please don’t fight the restraints or restrictions of the pandemic. Someday we’ll have a mass-burning party, but until then, some of you believe that the means you are using are the absolute key to remaining healthy as a community. Fine; promote it in the spirit of Christ.
On the other hand, there are some who believe it’s from the pit of hell and will have nothing to do with it. Fine—do so in the spirit of Christ. The point here is that we must hold to what we’re doing, realizing we are a diverse family. We never require you to think in one way. What I want from you is to learn how to think how to respond—not to give you our prescription on how to make it through this pandemic; that’s not important.
I know that the Lord has convictions about these matters, but sometimes we face issues in life where the devil doesn’t care what your opinion is, as long as you leave the Spirit of Christ out of it. If you promote your agenda and forsake the Spirit of Christ, what results is the capacity to dream things not from God.
So, let’s look at these verses. We are in a situation we can’t get out of. You pick whatever you want; I feel like I’m holding up a deck of cards. Just pick a card—any card. There are too many things happening right now; just pick one. We can’t change it. What we can do, in the middle of whatever crisis you face, is find the Word of the Lord. You are responsible for it.
I’ve told you before, if you get more input from social media, from mainstream media than you do from the Word of God, your discouragement is self-inflicted. You can’t have a garden, have a key to the gate, and invite the enemy to come in and plant weeds, then moan to God about it. You must repent for entertaining things that conflict with the will and purposes of God.
We must take ownership of this. The gate to our hearts and our assignment in life must be guarded. So, number one: Stop fighting the restrictions. Learn how to flourish in them. Amen?
Number two: Be restored to the promise of the Lord. Rediscover for yourself—not just something you can quote flippantly—but a heart-to-heart connection with the Father, who looks for your welfare. He fights for your welfare and contends for your blessing, not your calamity. Be restored to that mouth-to-mouth connection with the Father, who says, „This is how my heart burns for you; my imagination runs wild with thoughts of what I want to do for you.“ Get back to that, dear Father.
The last one is to set your heart to seek the face of the Lord. These are normal parts of Christian life, but I feel like it’s critical in this moment to review and renew them. It’s like the Lord spoke in Revelation to the church at Ephesus. He corrected them because they had lost their first love, and what was His prescription? „Do the deeds you did at first.“
I’m coming to you—not with an isolated first love message—but with the overall message right now. Stop trying to fight the setting or situation where God has placed you; discern that one.
Number two: Instead of focusing on what isn’t going right, shift your focus to seeking the Lord and the face-to-face fellowship with the King of Kings, our Father. Get restored to that place of confidence.
„God, I don’t know why this is happening. I don’t know what’s going on; I wish I had done things differently. I’m speaking from experience. But I’m here; I’m still on Your mind, still in Your heart. Your intentions for me have never changed. They are nothing but the best, even when I feel unqualified and undeserving of Your best.“
Yet You set it aside for me. So, Father, I return to that table where I refuse to be distracted by my circumstances and choose to be occupied with the face of the One who brought me to the table.
Stop fighting the restriction; rediscover the table, and set your heart to seek the face of the Lord because He has promised, „I will be found by you.“
It is impossible to hunger after the Lord and not discover Him. It is the covenantal promise of the One who is more dependable than the rising of the sun tomorrow morning. He is that kind of Father.
Now, I realize there are some watching this service who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. Put everything else aside; this is what’s important. Jesus suffered and died with you in mind. He wanted to make it possible for you to know what eternal life is like.
We have people on the YouTube channel and Bethel TV and podcasts and other forms of broadcasting available to talk and pray with you. I want you to just put it out there and say, „I want to know Jesus. I want to know what it is to be forgiven. I want to know what it is to be born again. I commit my life to follow this Jesus.“
Let me pray for you, and then we’ll wrap this up and turn it over to our team to close the service.
So, Father, we put on the child’s hat and take off all the other significant hats: responsibilities, titles, and all the other stuff. We just say, „Father, here we are. We’re kids. We don’t know what we’re doing, but we love You and trust You.“
So, we turn our hearts to You. We say, „Father, we trust You. Father, we love You,“ and we ask that You be glorified right now in our lives together—in this global family and the local Bethel family. Father, be glorified, especially in the individual members, with Eric and Candace and with us who remain here in this place. I ask this in the honor of the name Jesus. Amen.