Bill Johnson - The Fight Over Worldview
A couple of weeks ago, the last time I spoke, I mentioned my intentions for this entire summer. I feel like it’s supposed to be a summer of review—a summer of reflection on some of the things that have been very important to us in our studies and learning over the past 25 years. I’m going to revisit these topics, which I started doing a couple of weeks ago. Today, I want you to turn to Mark chapter 8, as I want to talk to you from this chapter. This is one of the most important chapters in my life; that is in no way an exaggeration.
About 20 years ago, I had an unusual experience: every time I opened my Bible, it seemed to open to Mark 8. I could be wanting to read the Psalms, and it would open to Mark. I’d want to go to the book of Jude, and it would again open to Mark chapter 8. It doesn’t do that anymore, so it’s not a crease in the Bible or a broken spine; it just would open to Mark 8 over and over again. After probably half a dozen times, I thought, «This is weird; maybe I should read it.» So I did.
I tend to be systematic in my reading; I’ll read through the Old Testament, New Testament, Gospels, or the Books of Law, and I take sections like the Epistles or Minor Prophets, reading over them—even repetitively. I read the Gospels constantly for 10 years, continuously reading and rereading, and I discovered it’s actually all about Jesus. It was probably good that I read the Gospels.
For my recreational reading, which is like going to a cabin on the weekend, I have certain places that I like to revisit, and Mark 8 is one of them. There are about eight to ten verses that I feast on, and the reason is these verses cut me; they literally pierce my soul every time I read them. It’s a two-edged sword: it heals where it cuts. We need to welcome that cutting of the word of the Lord into our souls because it imparts and shapes a perception of reality that you don’t get any other way.
I remember Dick Mills, a wonderful friend of ours, once shared a message where he illustrated a picture of a man standing right in front of him, about four feet away, with a sword pointed at his chest. The man says, «Come here.» That was a picture of literally walking into the sword of the Lord, and that’s what we do when we open the Word. We open it with Him, not just to learn about Him but to engage with Him.
Mark chapter 8 is a fascinating story for me about the renewed mind. Throughout the summer, I plan to talk to you several times from the Gospel of Mark because for me, the Gospel of Mark illustrates the renewed mind better than any other part of Scripture. The renewed mind is essential to our faith every single day of our lives. The Holy Spirit is working on us for the renewing of our minds because it is God’s heart to invade this world with His will.
Why is the renewed mind important? It’s His desire to invade this world with His will. Romans 12:2 says, «Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.» What is the will of God? The best definition I have found is in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples: «Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.» Pray that with me: «Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.» Say it again: «Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.»
So, what does a renewed mind do? It proves the will of God. We see the miraculous through faith and through presence. The most consistent way to see the miraculous is through the renewed mind. There’s no cancer in heaven—"on earth as it is in heaven.» It’s through the renewed mind.
The renewed mind is not the source of faith; faith doesn’t come from the mind; it comes from the heart. Faith is not the product of striving, but a result of surrender—that’s why it’s a heart issue. However, the renewed mind creates the context for faith, like the banks of a river. The renewed mind creates a context for faith to flow in.
We see Jesus talking to the centurion, and He’s stunned by his faith when he gives an explanation of how authority works. It was the renewed understanding that came only by revelation regarding authority that provided the context that gave evidence of his real faith.
I believe the Lord is working on us for the renewed mind. A couple of weeks ago, I likened this to a truck driver. A truck driver will take off with a load, and after driving for a while, that load begins to settle. Often, the driver will pull over at a truck stop to tighten down the load because things have shifted and settled. How many of you think that maybe, in the last 18 months, we’ve had a few things settle and we need a little tightening down of the load? That’s kind of what I feel like we’re doing over these next weeks here in the summer.
Let’s begin reading Mark chapter 8, starting at verse 13. «And He left them, getting into the boat again and departing to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.' And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have no bread.' But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, 'Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? ' They said to Him, 'Twelve.' 'Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? ' And they said, 'Seven.' Then He said to them, 'How is it you do not understand? '»
This is the portion that I read over and over again. Honestly, there are times when I’ll open to this chapter, and I will just read and ponder verse 17. Jesus, being aware of their reasoning, asked, «Why do you reason because you have no bread?» Any thought process that begins with what we don’t have must be repented of because you can’t build anything substantial on that thought. It makes for a poor foundation for human reasoning.
So, Jesus gives them instruction. He warns them about leaven—specifically, the leaven of Herod and the leaven of the Pharisees. There is a third leaven in Scripture, found in Matthew 13: it’s the leaven of the kingdom.
We know leaven is yeast; you work it into dough. We lived in Weaverville, where we had only wood heat—not even a little space heater—for 17 years. Benny would make homemade bread and work the yeast into the dough. Sometimes the kitchen was too cold, so she would put it right next to the wood stove, and the fire would activate the yeast, making it rise. Fire always activates whatever yeast is in your mind; it always activates and reveals what’s been planted.
Jesus warns against two different kinds of leaven, which represent worldviews and ways of thinking. He warns against the Pharisaic mindset and the political mindset of Herod. Herod’s political spirit doesn’t mind if you believe in God; it just doesn’t want you to bring Him into the equation, which sounds very familiar in our political climate. It doesn’t mind a belief in God; it just doesn’t want you to make Him a determining factor in policy, etc.
The religious system has God at the center of everything, but He is impersonal and powerless—figurative, not relational. The kingdom is the opposite of both of those: God is at the center of everything and defines everything by His presence. Everything is defined by the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, we live and consist and have our being.
Jesus warns about these value systems that could and will persuade you out of the reality of the kingdom of God, which is the greatest reality in existence. Paul told us that what you cannot see is eternal, while what you can see is temporal. The kingdom of God is not meat or drink; it’s not found in the physical. It’s righteousness, peace, and joy in the unseen— a superior reality. Thus, thinking from that place gives you a different approach to a problem in the natural.
Thinking from the natural, at best, makes you a beggar, hoping God invades your situation. We leave the posture of sons and daughters when we pray only from earth, seeking to get Him to invade a problem. What He is trying to build in us is an awareness of our identity and purpose so that we can effectively use His name and authority to accomplish His purposes.
It’s not about our kingdoms; it’s not about fame or success or any of those things. It’s not about fulfilling our dreams; that’s always a byproduct of fulfilling His. If God’s not listening to your prayers, maybe you should talk to Him about what He likes to discuss.
Both of these realities—the political spirit and the religious spirit—share one overlapping common denominator: if you study the Gospels, you’ll see this repeated. Both are heavily influenced by the fear of man. The Pharisees wouldn’t answer a question because the crowd would turn against them. They refused to respond to Jesus’s questions, and the political system often refrained from decisions because of various pressures. Pilate ultimately crucified Jesus because of the political environment—he worried about telling Caesar.
The fear of man is a principal motivator for many decisions in these two realities, and the crazy thing is they all think it’s wisdom. Fear masquerades as wisdom; it doesn’t matter what the fear is—a fear of disease or a fear of man—fear will always attract whatever information is needed to legitimize its existence. Fear reinforces itself.
Personally, I believe everyone has strengths, but those strengths can be turned into weaknesses. Would you agree with me? The boldness of Peter didn’t always work out well, but it worked when it was under the lordship of Jesus. The fear of man starts as a tender heart that cares for other people, but the enemy manipulates that tenderness so we become governed by that gift instead of governing it for kingdom purposes. He seeks to turn our perception from compassion for those around us into being imprisoned by the opinions of those around us.
Returning to the subject, Jesus talks to these men. Let’s go to the end of the story first. He recalls, «When I fed five thousand, we started with five loaves. How many baskets do we have left?» They said, «Twelve.» «Also, when I fed the four thousand, we started with seven loaves. How many baskets were left over?» They said, «Seven.»
«So you mean to tell me that when He fed the most people, He started with the least amount of food, but He had the most leftovers? Starting with more is not an advantage. Starting with more—that’s Wall Street’s perspective; that’s not kingdom. You were not chosen because of your strengths but because of your weaknesses. Why? All of eternity will be spent looking into each other’s lives with honor and celebration and giving thanks to God because it was all by grace. We’ll see it clearly: it was all by grace. Nobody got here on their own merit; everyone got here by grace. It will be the inspiration for praises for all eternity. Ephesians 2 says it will take the ages to come to unravel the mystery of the surpassing greatness of His grace.»
So, here we are. He asks, «When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets did you have left?» They said, «Twelve.» Now, let’s return to verse 17. Why do you reason that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
This is interesting because conversion gave us the capacity to see. John 3:3 says, «Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.» The implication is that your conversion gives you the ability to see. Now, in this passage, Jesus points out, «You can’t see; is your heart still hardened?»
Now, He never does this in shame. It’s never to rub our noses in it or to make us feel hopeless; it’s always an invitation to maturity, an invitation to grow. He is pointing out weaknesses in their perception. What’s the problem here? If you read through the chapter, you’ll notice they just multiplied food a second time for the four thousand, yet now they are in a boat without enough food for lunch.
«Why do you reason that you have no bread? Why did you start your thinking with what you lacked?» Let me ask you: how many of you have honestly experienced supernatural provision from God? How many of you, after that miracle of provision, faced another financial problem? How many of you were as afraid the second time as you were the first?
That’s the issue; our experience in the supernatural is supposed to train us how to think and how to see. When He asks the question, «Why do you reason?» he wouldn’t have expected that awareness in the beginning stages of their discipleship. He wouldn’t have expected them to acknowledge that the God of the impossible and unlimited supply was with them.
But now, having experienced the multiplication of food twice, miracles should impact how we deal with present challenges. Once you’ve seen supernatural supply, you lose every right to start any thought process with what you don’t have. As someone once said, once you’ve seen supernatural supply, you can no longer begin any thought with what you don’t have.
Miracles are expensive because they require a shift, a change. Any thought process that starts with what I don’t have must be repented of because anything I build on it is built on sand—a weak foundation. People around you will applaud you and call it common sense, but common sense to what world? To what kingdom?
«Why do you reason that you have no bread? Don’t you understand? Can you not perceive?» Then He continues, asking three questions: «Having eyes, can’t you see? Having ears, can’t you hear?» I don’t know about you, but there are times when I can’t see certain situations clearly; I can’t perceive. It’s a seeing from the heart.
We’re not talking about open visions of angels—though those are wonderful. That’s not the normal, everyday seeing of the heart of a believer. I remember praying for a guy who had a back issue, and I couldn’t see with my natural eyes, but I could see clearly from my heart that there was a black substance on his back clinging to him.
I know it sounds weird, and I didn’t make a big deal about it. I simply told the person I was praying with to pull it off his back, and since they knew to do what I asked, they did so. They grabbed that black mass as if pulling it off his back, and he was healed!
It’s a seeing; it’s a perceiving. Here’s what I’ve learned: He says, «Having eyes, can’t you see? Having ears, can’t you hear? And do you not remember?» The first two—most of us attribute to someone’s gifts. For example, Chris has an unusual ability to see; he can see things with his natural eyes that I sometimes can’t see by faith. Similarly, he hears things from God that I love hearing because it enriches my understanding.
But remembering has never been attributed to a gift. I may not have what I consider a qualified gift to see, and I may not have an ability to hear well in a particular season, but I can always remember. Psalms 119:11 says, «The testimony of the Lord is your inheritance forever.»
Say that with me: «The testimony of the Lord is my inheritance forever.» Now, what’s interesting about that is the verse does not say your testimony is your inheritance forever. It says the testimony of the Lord, which then opens it up to everything God has ever done in all of time in His interactions with people.
That means that when water came out of the rock for Israel, that’s my story—it’s my story! Now, sometimes people don’t enjoy their inheritance; they leave it where it is. They inherit a home but never stay there. Many of us have inheritances in God that some of you may never have known were yours. But these are your stories!
When Jesus walked upon that funeral procession and a dead child was being carried to be buried, and the mother wept, Jesus, with the Father’s heart, was so deeply moved with compassion that He raised the child. That’s your story! Why is this important? Because prayerfully meditating on the testimony of the Lord equips us with the ability to see.
Here’s what happens for me: I get into situations where I’m trying to see—I can’t see. There are times I can’t perceive what He’s saying or doing. I’m trying to hear and do what I can to prime the pump—I’m reading Scripture and doing everything—but I’m just not hearing anything. But I can remember, and I stop.
I will say, «Two weeks ago, we got a testimony of pancreatic cancer being healed—one of the most horrific kinds of cancer anyone can have. Right after that, I saw a woman healed of ALS—two of the most horrible diseases! This is the season for going after horrific diseases! Where did you get that? From the testimony!»
It shapes how we think. I remember flying back from New Zealand after having spent some time with Winky Pratty, a wonderful friend and hero of faith for me. He had a stroke that blew up a large portion of his brain, but through the renewing of the mind, the Lord healed his brain.
I had just been with Roland Baker, who had a disease that was eating away at his brain. They have X-rays that show how his brain was dying. Here I have the two smartest men I know—Winky Pratty and Roland Baker, both of whom experienced brain issues that were supposed to take their lives but have been healed.
I returned, reflecting on this during my flight, and thought, «This is interesting; God must be healing minds!» We’ve got to target this—God’s going after trauma of the brain. Based on this understanding, I called out brain trauma.
One of our staff members had a horrible fall and, as a consequence, couldn’t do anything with his children or any activity that involved movement. He couldn’t be in circumstances where difficult subjects were discussed without going into panic mode. He was in the room when I called out this brain trauma; he calmly put his head against the wall in an act of faith, and he was completely healed!
A woman sitting over there with a two-year-old child, who grew up with an abusive husband and an abusive father, had a child who had been beaten as an infant. This child had a misshaped head and was disassociated; she wouldn’t associate with her parents or other people. Some of our students laid hands on this child, and the very next morning, the child walked into the mother’s room, which had never happened. She said, «Mommy, I’m okay now!»
You see, it’s supposed to be that once you have fed five thousand and fed four thousand, you will look at an empty boat without food differently. It’s supposed to change perspective about how you look at present challenges. By the way, that child’s misshaped head was completely normal by the next morning!
How differently lenses see! To pray for miracles, to look for God to do what only He can do, and then not to change ourselves in how we think, is to miss the point. Jesus had His disciples corralled in a boat; they couldn’t go anywhere, and He asked, «Can’t you see? Is your heart still hard?»
If I’ve ever lived in a season with two things going on, it’s this: we have the residue—call it what you want—left from the last 18 months, and we also have these ongoing testimonies being handed to us that include some of the most extraordinary miracles we’ve ever observed. Some are very real—pancreatic cancer: a student stood in proxy for her mom in the fourth stage, and they were going to run scans to determine whether she could survive three 16-hour surgeries beginning in June. The scans came back: zero cancer left!
This same student stood in proxy long distance, and it’s supposed to be one of the primary lessons from this last season of having to do everything via Zoom and online. The number of miracles occurring is incredible right now. We even have a great number of people coming to Christ through the declared word online. We have miracles like empty wheelchairs emerging from comas, and I have one friend who’s seen two resurrections from the dead—all through online, all through Zoom—extraordinary miracles taking place!
What is it? It’s learning to think and see from God’s history with people. For many, their history works against them: «I’ve been prayed for a thousand times, and nothing’s ever happened.» Or «We prayed for my mom, and she passed.» It’s not that we pretend those things never existed; it’s that we bring them into that relationship with God so He can heal the pain and turn it into strength.
Every loss is supposed to be a place of vengeance—not our vengeance, not mine—but where God shows Himself strong. Somebody wrote a book years ago titled «Don’t Waste Your Sorrows.» Don’t experience tragedy and let it haunt you; use it against the enemy! Why build a life formed around disappointment from loss when you could channel it for promotion or breakthrough?
For instance, my dad died of pancreatic cancer. Two days before he died, I spoke with Rick Joyner, who said, «God’s going to use this to give you seven times the greater anointing against that disease!» You must bring these matters before the Lord.
I can’t make anything happen, and you can’t either, but we can be available. We may not be moving fast, but as long as we’re moving in the right direction, there’s hope. Bring it before the Lord and say, «Let Your name be exalted, God; You have the last laugh, and You will have the last say in this matter.»
And then, suddenly, you start attracting stories. You’ll begin to draw in testimonies of what God has done. You will always attract whatever you value. We did this two weeks ago: anyone who values gossip will attract others who value gossip in any gathering. The same is true for testimony and words of faith; you will attract what you need.
So, having eyes, can’t you see? Having ears, can’t you hear? Can you remember? He takes me through that list: «I go, 'Yeah, I’m not seeing well; oh, my hearing stinks, ' but I can remember.»
The first two are attributed to gifts, but the last one is based on willingness—what I’m willing to feed my soul. I pray that in this next season, everyone in this room—and every one of us—would become magnets for hope, faith, and testimonies. May we embody everything that reinforces the purpose of our lives to avoid being devoid of the supernatural interventions of God. It should not be occasional or a random event where maybe it’s God’s will one out of ten times—it is the very heart and nature of God for His people.
We come with the violence of John the Baptist, who lays hold of the promises. I pray for a grace over every family here; may we find ourselves mysteriously running into the very stories we need and seeing through the lenses of your history. Awaken in us through Scripture the very reports of the Lord that we need for this season we are in.
I pray, Father, for every part of our family—both online and local—that You would equip us with the eyes to see what has been in front of us all this time. If this story is true, and it’s from Jesus, which of course it is, it could represent the greatest spiritual reality in our lives.
But hardness of heart can blind me to what’s right in front of me. So often, we ask God, «Why haven’t You provided?» «Why hasn’t the miracle happened yet?» When right in front of us is the reality that requires a response, we become too hard to see it.
So, Lord, we intentionally turn away from everything that builds that crust around our hearts to what You’re saying and what You’re doing. Help us to be unusually tender to Your voice and presence in this next season, I pray in Jesus' name.
The Bible says, Jesus made this statement: «What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?» What good would it do to have every dream, every ambition, and every thought fulfilled if you were to lose your own soul in that moment? Every person would trade every experience, every blessing, and everything they ever had in life for that one sound of Him saying, «Well done, good and faithful servant.»
There is nothing a person wouldn’t give for that word. I believe it brings us together. We have eight to ten people a week coming to Christ just through our online service, but I want to ensure that everyone in this room knows what it is to be forgiven—to be brought into the family of God and to become a follower of Jesus.
If there’s anyone in the room who would say, «Bill, I don’t want to leave this building until I know I have peace with God, that I’ve been forgiven of my sin, and that I am truly a follower of Jesus,» please raise your hand quickly. I’ll take a moment to look around the room; wave your hand at me if I miss you, because I want to make sure we provide a full opportunity for everyone here to make that confession of faith toward Jesus.
All right, online, feel free to type in the chat that you want to surrender your life to Jesus. We have pastors ready to talk with you and pray with you; we believe this can be the absolute beginning of a whole new life for you. Bless you! Why don’t you go ahead and stand? Tom, come on up and tell them what they’ve won!