Bill Johnson - Building With Thanksgiving and Joy
As I have mentioned the last few times I have spoken, I have felt, at least for me, that it’s a season of review, especially with the unusual nature of the last 18 months. I feel it is really critical, personally, to assess what got us here. Let’s say in December of 2019, I had an unusual experience with the Lord. I have had Him speak to me in the night, where He awakened me with His voice twice. I don’t want to create the impression that I have these encounters every other month—there are about five in 50 years, so you do the math; that’s not very common, but it happens.
However, this particular time was different; instead of a voice coming to me, it exploded within me. I don’t know how to describe that, but it’s what happened. I was fast asleep when I was awakened by a thought, which I normally don’t have while I’m asleep. I sleep and intentionally ignore anything important, so I can rest. But I was awoken with this thought: «A walled city without gates is not entirely safe.» That’s not even a thought I would have come up with, certainly not at that time of night.
A walled city without gates startled me, and I lay there for I don’t remember how long—I’m going to guess from an hour and a half to two hours, pondering what in the world just happened and what He was trying to say. A walled city without gates is not entirely safe. Forty-eight years ago, when Benny and I were married, I remember that soon after we married, I purposed to study two specific books in the Bible and to devote myself to studying those books for an extended period. What that meant for me was that I would read a book, like Ephesians, over and over every day for six months. I might read other things too, but I keep that constant in my diet, so to speak.
The second book I dedicated myself to for at least six months was the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is about rebuilding walls around the city of Jerusalem, while Ezra is about rebuilding the temple. Together, those two books give us a profound picture of salvation: where the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and begins to rebuild the parts of our lives that have been broken down and destroyed.
So, I was familiar with the language of walls and gates, but I certainly didn’t have that in mind. A walled city without gates is not entirely safe. I want you to go with me to Isaiah 60, and we’re going to take two portions of Scripture. It’s not always smart to take a biblical theme from one book to another because sometimes they don’t translate well. However, I believe that what I’m going to share with you today will have several references, and it’s a constant theme in both the Old and New Testaments.
Another interesting experience I had with the Lord was in May of 1979, on a Thursday afternoon. I was in Weaverville, walking in the back of the sanctuary praying. It was my custom to walk, as I find that I don’t fall asleep when I walk and pray, which is a great thing. I remember that I was reading from Isaiah 60. That’s just where I happened to be in my reading for that time, and the Lord began to speak to me. I had a real encounter with Him out of Isaiah 60—one of the two most profound encounters of my life. One was word-centered, and the second was a midnight divine encounter with the power of God. This one was word-centered and has shaped my thinking and values ever since that Thursday afternoon in May of 1979.
It was the first 19 verses, and I want you to take a phrase from this chapter. I’m not going to teach out of this chapter; I just want to highlight a phrase that I began to ponder while I was laying in the absolute darkness. The phrase was: «A walled city without gates is not entirely safe.» I pondered verses that I knew on this subject to see if I could gain insight into what the Lord was saying. My mind went to this passage, one of the ones in my repertoire: «Violence will no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders.» Here is the part that came to mind: «You will call your walls salvation and your gates praise.»
So back to the thought: A walled city without gates is not entirely safe. This is significant, and I’ll tell you why. Your walls shall be called salvation—that’s what God does for you. Your gates shall be called praise—that’s what you give to Him. The strength of our life is not based only on what He has done for us; it’s based on what He has done for us, but there’s a responsibility. This statement isn’t meant to breed paranoia or fear about not being safe; it’s a summons to responsibility.
We have a role to play in our own safety. Many people face continuous, ongoing spiritual battles because of their own compromise, which actually welcomes ongoing conflict into their lives that they weren’t designed for. It dislocates them, like an arm out of a socket, from their purpose and design, and they constantly find themselves aware of spiritual warfare. They think that’s the nature of their life, but that’s not the case.
If this were a walled city, figuratively speaking, this sanctuary could have people outside throwing arrows and spears at the walls, and we would never know it—not if we’re in here and safe. There are things that happen in a walled city, so to speak—things that happen in the life of a person who has had their life healed, broken parts restored, and weaknesses turned into areas of strength. There are times when we sit in the middle of intense conflict and are completely unaware of it. It’s not denial; it’s just that there’s a strength surrounding us that doesn’t keep us devil-conscious all the time.
So here’s this thought: Your walls are called salvation—God saved me, and that’s what He did for me. The gates are called praise. Then my mind quickly went to another passage in Revelation. I think it’s in chapter 21, where it talks about the heavenly Jerusalem, a walled city with gates. It says that your gates will be made out of one solid pearl. If ever there was a strange metaphor in the Bible, it’s got to be that a pearl is a gate.
So now we have this gigantic pearl—12 of them—at the gates of the city of Jerusalem. We have to stop and think about how pearls are formed. They are formed out of irritation. Oh, so the gate of praise isn’t formed because I praised God for a raise at work; it’s that in the middle of difficulty, I praised Him. Then I pondered the nature of this gate. First of all, we’re talking about safety. We have these walls of a city with gates in place that are called gates of praise. Those gates of praise serve two purposes. Number one, they provide protection from the onslaught of the enemy. What he intends to use against us is now removed from his hands. The weapons of the enemy are destroyed through thankfulness; it actually takes away the tools he would use to destroy us because now we’re using God’s tools and playing with His instruments.
Psalm 24 states, «Lift up your heads, O you gates, that the King of glory may enter in.» So here’s a gate that the Lord can come through, and the enemy can’t. The same gate invites one and repels the other. Praise.
Go with me to 1 Thessalonians 5; we’ll spend the rest of our time in this chapter. That last statement I made about thanksgiving was somewhat convoluted, and I want to provide context because if you understand this, you can look up the scriptures on your own. There’s this interesting dialogue that Paul has on two occasions about food and what we’re to eat. In one of those occasions, he mentions that if your neighbor is sacrificing some animal to a demon god, and you know that they sacrificed that meat to the demon god and they know that you know, don’t eat the meat. It’s not because it will harm you; it will violate their conscience.
He then goes on to say that if they don’t know, then eat it. Elsewhere, Paul states that all foods received with prayer and thankfulness are sanctified. Follow the logic here. Here’s this big chunk of meat my neighbor just offered to some god; he doesn’t know that I know, but I witnessed the demon powers surrounding him during his offering. I know the enemy wants to destroy me through this. But then I receive it into my life, and I give thanks. My thankfulness sanctified what was previously empowered by the enemy to bring destruction into my life. Did that make sense? Thankfulness sanctifies.
So, when you’re in the middle of a horrific situation, thankfulness isn’t about chasing the devil; it’s simply about turning our hearts toward the celebration of who God is in every situation. It anchors our souls into that absolute victory promised to each one of us. Thankfulness.
So here we have this portion of Scripture. I remember reading that verse when I was a young pastor in Weaverville: «Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.» I remember thinking that I could spend the rest of my life, every day, just on these three verses, and I would have my hands full.
Let’s say it together: «Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.» Again: «Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.» I’m not sure we see the effect of thankfulness on the human heart or on the spiritual atmosphere surrounding our lives. There is a sanctifying, cleansing, and purifying work that takes place simply through thankfulness.
Why? Number one, thankfulness is automatically a position of humility. Thankfulness is not us dictating something to God or to someone else; it’s coming low and honoring Him for what He has done. Thankfulness is connected to the acts of God, the works of God. It says of Israel and Moses that Israel was acquainted with the acts of God, but Moses was acquainted with His ways.
There’s an interesting progression in perception and experience in those two areas. Many people experience the works of God, but they don’t know anything about His nature or His person. All the revelations of the works of God are invitations to discover who He is. Moses prayed this prayer in Exodus: «Let me know Your ways, let me know Your works, that I might know You.» In other words, God, I want to see what You’re like because I want to follow that invitation into relationship and encounter.
In other words, we’re not gathering information for a test; we’re not gathering information to pass a quiz. We’re getting glimpses of what He’s like so that we can take each glimpse as an invitation or open door opportunity to come into relationship. When He revealed Himself to Abraham as the provider, Jehovah Jireh, it wasn’t to make him more well-rounded in his theological understanding of God’s resources. He was revealing Himself as the one who was about to provide for him—so that instead of sacrificing Isaac, there was a ram caught in the thicket.
The point was, God, His provider just revealed Himself, and that provision was to be experienced. Thanksgiving will take you to places nothing else can. It will take you places in God.
So here He says: «Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.» As I was laying there, I kept making reference to something I’ve shared with you before. While I was laying there in this middle-of-the-night moment, my head was spinning with these verses and thoughts. I wanted to ensure I grasped what He was trying to say; it provided insight but also a warning. A walled city without gates is not entirely safe. In other words, I have a role to play.
We have a role regarding the safety of our own households and our house of faith as a church family. As I lay there, I started to meditate on this specific passage: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. If you don’t meditate on the word, you’re restricting your capacity for learning, because He wants to speak to you. It’s true; He wants to speak through your thought process.
He wants to become part of your thought process so that as you ponder what He has said in His Word, you’ll have an idea that feels like it’s yours, but you’ll know you didn’t come up with it. Alright, that’s a good point, Bill. I know exactly what you mean.
As I was laying there, I began to have a sense that the key to emotional health is rejoicing always. The key to emotional health! Here’s the strange thing—let me give you a visual reference for thanksgiving. I’m not a great golfer; it’s been a while since I’ve gone. I have some funny stories about my golfing expertise. I use this as an analogy: the ball is here; you’ve got a backswing. You meet the ball, and it goes that way. This is yesterday; this is today. The momentum shows you where you’re going tomorrow.
I don’t know if that made sense. You have your backswing; you meet the ball. Your club doesn’t go that way; it goes the other way. There’s a momentum created when you say, «God, You provided for me when I didn’t deserve it. I made poor financial decisions, and You covered me anyway. You healed my body; You used a doctor; I was in crisis; I expected you to show up in a certain way, but You never left me, and You walked me through that into triumph.»
What’s happening is you are reviewing the faithfulness of God in your past, and you automatically pick up a sense of where you’re going. Does that make sense? You automatically gain insight into your future. Why? Because before there’s a problem, He creates a solution.
One of the most astonishing things in Scripture to me is where it says Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the world. Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the world. So, before there was all this creation, including humans, He was crucified.
The point is, before there was sin, there was a Savior. Before there was a problem, there was a solution. What could you come up with in your life for which He didn’t already have a solution? The reason for thankfulness is quite astonishing. Thankfulness helps create hope.
You know what hope is? Hope is the joyful anticipation of good. It’s excitement for what’s about to happen. What that means is that hope gives us the opportunity to enjoy the emotional benefits of a miracle before the miracle happens. We get to explore the emotion of victory before the victory actually comes.
We get to experience the anticipation of victory. Hope gives us access to that. It’s thanksgiving that creates that momentum. So here we have this issue: rejoicing is the key to emotional health.
Rejoicing in any situation—every situation—I believe strongly that these expressions require a physical response. It requires a physical response. He didn’t say, «Shout for joy, all you extroverts, and all you introverts, just think happy thoughts. I’m good; I’m fine.» It didn’t say that. It says, «Shout for joy.»
There is something about the expression that changes our capacity to experience what God is doing and what He is about to do. There’s something that transforms us through physical, outward obedience. Sometimes it’s kneeling; sometimes it’s laying on your face; sometimes it’s raising your hands; sometimes it’s a dance.
I’ll never forget the first time I danced before the Lord. I was alone in the house, worshiping, and I felt like the Lord wanted me to dance. I was so embarrassed—I made sure the curtains were closed, thinking the news networks were there wanting to film this great event. I did; I actually made sure all the curtains were closed. The lights were dim, you could hardly see, and I went ahead and did it.
I have to admit, I actually felt kind of good inside, so I did it again, and again, and again. Eventually, you don’t care what anyone thinks, but at that time, it mattered to me. There had to be some sort of physical response.
I like what Wigglesworth said: «My body doesn’t tell me how it’s feeling; I tell my body how to feel.» There are times when they’re not monumental things—they’re not god commanding us to do something impossible—sometimes it’s simple things like raising your hand or giving what’s in your pocket to someone in need. They aren’t huge noble tasks, but they all require some sort of external obedience, and rejoicing is just like that.
I think rejoicing takes great faith. I think it’s easier to hang your head and sing a song about God’s worth than to celebrate His worth. You actually have to have some confidence to rejoice.
He says to rejoice always. The second part of that experience: «And in everything give thanks.» I felt strongly that He impressed upon my heart that the key to mental health was giving thanks in everything.
I remember hearing a talk show where a psychiatrist or psychologist was interviewed. They made the statement—I won’t get it exactly right—but it went something like this: «Ninety percent of all mental illness is the result of trying to avoid pain.» Ninety percent of all mental illness results from trying to avoid pain.
Somehow facing difficulty with thankfulness—it’s not denial; it’s not pretending something doesn’t exist; it’s owning up to the situation. It’s like Joseph with his brothers who sold him into slavery. He said, «You did this to destroy me; however, God looked ahead and placed me here.» It was like acknowledging the challenge of the moment while feeling liberated and free.
To be liberated and free in that moment, with thanksgiving, is the nature of the Christian life. We need to get it now because it’s crazy out there. People don’t even know what bathroom to use—oh, don’t get me started.
But here’s the issue: if I move in offense, I will fight the challenge with their tools, which puts us on a level playing field. Whenever you fight the devil on his field, you lose. It’s moving into the grace gifts of God, where I refuse to live in offense. I also refuse to be irresponsible and recognize that flesh and blood is not my enemy.
This person believes a lie, but me yelling at them won’t change their belief. It’s not about accusing or doing whatever. It doesn’t fix anything; it may help someone feel better for a moment until God convicts them. Are you getting what I’m trying to say?
Moving into a place of bringing about change requires two things: I believe the safeguard here is profound for bringing transformation; it’s rejoicing always and giving thanks in everything.
Those two things are keys to emotional and mental health. And the last point: pray without ceasing. I believe praying without ceasing is the key to heart health.
How important is that? Jesus dealt with the heart in many ways. He says adulteries, jealousies, and all these things come from the heart. He then corrects us, but He also says, «Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.»
The heart is significant. It’s that seat of emotion, the place of affections, and the values established in the human heart. What we do with our lives is determined in that place. Proverbs 4:23 says, «Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life.»
All the issues of life—a family, a job, personal health, millions of plates spinning on sticks—requires watching this one thing. It’s like having one gauge on your dashboard to ensure everything is functioning properly.
Watching this one thing is significant. That’s what I believe is the command of the Lord keeping us strong as it pertains to our heart. Do we want adulteries, envies, and jealousies from the heart, or do we desire the pure in heart who will see God? This is obviously what we want.
He says to pray without ceasing. In other words, view prayer as your ongoing primary occupation. If you’re an evangelist, you can only evangelize so much during the day. If you pray for the sick, you can only pray for the sick for so long. If you’re a schoolteacher, you’re only in the classroom for a certain amount of time.
But pray without ceasing. I have found that when I create a momentum throughout my day, I wake up in the night praying. One important thing to recognize is that we don’t know what we’re doing with prayer. Anyone on this side would agree with me—we don’t really know what we’re doing.
That’s why the Bible says we don’t know how to pray as we ought. It’s best to side with the Bible; it says you don’t know what you’re doing. But here’s the cool thing: in Romans 8, it says the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. A few verses later, it says Jesus intercedes for us.
Holy Spirit intercedes for me, Jesus is interceding for me, and right in the middle of those two verses is the statement that all things work together for good. I wonder why that is? Because I’ve got the Holy Spirit, and I’ve got the Son of God—they’re both pleading my case before the Father.
I may not know what I’m doing, but the Holy Spirit who lives in me knows exactly what He’s doing. Many people pray enough to ease their conscience but not enough to change circumstances, not enough to make a difference.
Prayer is the full-time responsibility of the believer. It’s not just that time in the morning when you get on your knees, open your Bible—those are wonderful—but it’s more than that. I’ll drive down the road, see a car that reminds me of a friend, and I take that as a signal to pray for them.
It’s automatic. I’ll remember a challenging conversation from earlier. That will come to mind, and as soon as it does, I’ll say, «I lay down my right to be offended at that, and I pray for my friend that you would touch their life.»
The point is, we have a full-time occupation of interacting with God. Now, here’s the deal: I’d like, in the next couple of minutes, to paint a picture for you of what I believe is the heart of the Father. I believe the Father wants the earth to be filled with the fruitfulness of the answers to your prayers.
In other words, you were designed to meet with the Creator of all—the life-giver—to make petitions and requests, to decree and proclaim, and as a result, see the course of history changed. Answers from God sprinkled all over the earth should show that this situation was impossible and Jesus changed it.
This family was so destroyed they could never recover, but the mercy of God came, and they have been healed. This business was about to be lost, and God raised it up again. Home after home, situation after situation. Why? Because someone who loves the Father is willing to pray until they find out how to pray.
I think the fruitfulness that God desires from our prayers is found in laying down our offense on so many things because there are unanswered prayers. Prayer is an engagement with a person, where we are changed.
That’s the whole point. If I take an hour to pray, and I don’t leave that hour changed, I wasn’t praying; I was complaining. It’s an engagement with a person; why? Because I am learning to think like Him. How many know you can pray the same prayer a thousand times, have nothing happen, but then you pray once more, and a breakthrough takes place?
Sometimes it’s that one more time of doing the right thing, but this time you’re doing it in the presence of God; this time you’re doing it in His command. This time, His hand is on my hand, making my efforts effective and powerful. That’s what prayer is—it’s the invitation of God to come into a place where we actually make a difference in the course of history because we pray.
So here it is: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Emotional, mental health; heart health. And the pure in heart will see God.
Now, don’t you stand. We’re going to pray together. I feel I keep coming back to the subject of prayer over the last six or eight months because I need it. I keep getting glimpses of God’s heart, and you can’t help but pray when you see His heart.
He’s the one who said, «Abide in me, let my words abide in you, and ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.» Four times in three chapters, He gives this invitation for world-changing involvement with God through answers to prayer that change everything—partnership.
Something happened here about 23 years ago. We’ve been seeing this wonderful outpouring for almost 25 years, but something transformative happened then—a corporate anointing for healing that has brought thousands of people to experience miracles.
I feel like this moment could be that hour where He is now releasing a corporate anointing for prayer. We find ourselves—you may feel like, «Well I really don’t know what I’m doing,» and good, because if you did, you’d mess it up!
There’s something about praying in the Holy Spirit, praying with intent, receiving direction. There are times I sit before the Lord when I have nothing; I pray in tongues, in my prayer language. It’s an important aspect.
But still, oftentimes He wants to say something from my understanding, and I can just take a shot in the dark. I can find a verse and quote it, but sometimes He wants me to see something I’ve never seen before.
That way, I can declare something I’ve never declared before. I feel like there’s a school of prayer that God is releasing on us as a church family right now. I pray that you wake up because of dreams.
I pray that you are troubled by dreams. I pray you are excited by dreams. I pray the voice of the Lord awakens you. I’ve had it happen twice—His voice startled me awake. I pray that happens for you! I pray that you can’t escape the great privilege of filling the earth with the fruitfulness of your answered prayers.
Father, I pray for that, that you would multiply the effectiveness of our prayer. Our online family as well, God, that you would release grace for miracle anointing in prayer. All we want is what you’ve commanded us: «Kingdom of God, come. Will of God, be done.»
That is our cry, and I pray You awaken the heart and life of every single person in this room and everyone online to their significant role of effecting history simply by praying what You pray, declaring what You declare, and believing what You believe.
Now, if you could hold your place for just a moment, I know that with this many people gathered, the odds are high that there are those here who don’t know Jesus. You don’t have a personal relationship with Him; you don’t know what it is to be forgiven; you don’t know what it is to be born again, as the Bible says.
It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re in the building or watching online; there’s a way for you to respond right now. I want to ask everyone in the building: if there’s anyone here in that position who says, «I don’t want to leave until I know I’m at peace with God and that I am truly His disciple,» please raise your hand high so I can see it; we’re going to pray for that miracle.
If you recognize that’s you, raise your hand. For those online, we’ve had many come to Christ online, so please let us know in the chat that you want to receive Jesus, and our team will pray with you.
Now, how about you do this: who’s coming up? Chris, come on up and help me lift up one good shout of thanksgiving!