Bill Johnson - Treasuring the Word
Thank you, it’s nice to see you, and nice to see us. I was in Houston and then Phoenix last week, and I had the incredible privilege of speaking at Maya Morello’s conference to celebrate his 50th year of preaching the gospel—50 years! I think he started when he was five. His ministry has completely changed my life, so whenever I introduce him, I say, «I owe this man my life.» What an incredible honor to be there to celebrate his 50th year; doing this conference was one of the highlights of my life and a great treat. Then, I was in Phoenix at the Church for All Nations with Dr. Michael Mayton, and they’ve got such an amazing work there. He went through hell about 30 years ago, when someone ran off with the money; it’s a horrible story. But the Lord has restored him, and the church there has multiple campuses and is exploding. He and his wife, Mary, are among my favorite people anywhere. I’m just thankful for them, so it was a great treat to be with them last week.
Now, I’m at my favorite place on the planet. Someone gave me this this morning; someone figured out my password, and now I have to rename my dog. I find that so funny. The Flat Earth Society has members all around the globe. How many of you have had your coffee? You should be getting these. Yes—the first woman in space. Women, forgive me for this, but look at me at the beginning here: first woman in space. Houston, we have a problem. What kind of problem? Never mind. What’s the problem? Nothing. Please tell us—I’m fine! That’s funny. I asked my grandpa, after 65 years of marriage, why he still calls my grandma «darling,» «beautiful,» «honey.» What’s the secret? He said, «I forgot her name five years ago, and I’m afraid to ask!»
One more, one more, one more, and then we’re through for the day: God promised men that good and obedient wives would be found in all corners of the Earth; then He made the Earth round and laughed and laughed. Oh boy. Okay, I had kind of an unusual thing happen yesterday; it wasn’t dramatic, but it caught me off guard. The Lord spoke to me and told me to talk to you about Isaiah chapter 30, which I don’t usually get that kind of direction, so it caught me completely off guard because I don’t even think in those terms. I had been reading Isaiah recently, and Isaiah 30 was one of the chapters I read yesterday. He spoke to me so clearly that I was to talk to you about it. I started pondering what I was supposed to do, and obviously I needed to discuss Isaiah 30. It represented something for me. Isaiah 30 is one of maybe 100 places in Scripture where the Lord has fed my soul when I’ve been in trouble, fearful, anxious—it could be for any reason.
I’ve learned through the years that whenever I’m going through something, I want to meet with Jesus. This book right here is Jesus in print; don’t tell me you love Jesus if you don’t love His book because this is Him in print. I read a verse this morning that said the Lord waters the seed that we plant. Just think about it: in the natural, you take a seed, you put it in the ground, and He’s the one who brings the rain. It’s also true of the word we plant in our hearts. It’s up to us to plant the seed of God’s word in our hearts, and He’ll make sure He waters it once it’s planted. The point is, we have the responsibility to take what God is saying and make sure it is safely planted in our hearts so He can water it and bring forth fruit.
I remember early in my walk with the Lord, when Benny and I got married— I was 21 and she was 18. We’d have an evangelist come to town, and he’d say, «How many of you have teenagers at home?» I’d raise my hand, and about that time, I’d get an elbow in the ribs; I think I’m still bruised! Oh yes, those teenagers are challenging. Amen. I remember that period when I went through a very difficult situation—the absolute worst situation I had ever gone through in my life. It was a betrayal of sorts, and it was just extremely painful. It’s one thing to determine in your heart, «I forgive, and I’m going to walk in forgiveness.» It’s another to settle down the firestorm in your mind and heart. I remember that fight; goodness, I remember!
I was working one night as a custodial engineer, cleaning toilets and vacuuming floors at the City Hall and Police Department in Santa Rosa, where I happened to be going to school. I was fighting in my mind and heart. I had already determined to walk in forgiveness, but it was just a horrendous personal experience. At work every three minutes, I had to try to settle the storm in my mind, reminding myself, «I walk in forgiveness. I forgive this person.» During this journey, I found that if you can put forgiveness into action, it’s like two-part epoxy—you make the determination and confession, but then you put an action together, and it solidifies the decision. However, I was still in the process of discovering this.
I remember I had my Bible with me, and I was overwhelmed; my thoughts were everywhere. I would open the Bible randomly and point. Now, don’t do this to find direction from the Lord; I’m just sharing my story. I probably did this at least 20 times, maybe closer to 50 times in one night because I was in so much pain and turmoil. Five minutes later, I’d take the Bible, open it randomly, and He spoke to me exactly what I needed every single time. I don’t recommend doing this because you could get a random verse that doesn’t apply. In that night, my heart was in such pain, and the Lord was gracious to use this as a method to speak to me.
I learned how to find safe places where I could retreat. My home has always been a place of peace. Benny and I determined from the very beginning that it would never be a house of conflict. That doesn’t mean we don’t have difficulties or challenges like anyone else, but it is a place of peace. When I come home after a long day, I never greet Benny with difficulties or challenging things unless it’s an emergency; we always greet each other in peace. If there are tough conversations, we schedule them at a mutually convenient time so we’re both at our best to deal with whatever issue arises. We learned to maintain a house of peace, and no matter what kind of craziness I experienced outside, I came home to peace.
How many of you would like to have a little cabin by a lake in the mountains? Yes, a little place of refuge! Jesus, hear my cry. We would all like to have that, and I have about a thousand of them in here—places of absolute peace where I hear His heart and mind, and I literally come face to face with Him. I’ve been in situations where I needed God; in those moments, I didn’t need an answer, just deliverance, just help. I walked in forgiveness, and eventually it became less frequent. What started as every three minutes became every 10 minutes, eventually a couple of times a day, then once or twice a week. Then I could look at the issue and say with absolute confidence, «You have no influence on me—none whatsoever.»
You would think as big as those issues feel, God could just deliver us from the moment so we don’t have to fight, but the crazy thing is the fight conditions us to live in the blessing that He wants to release in our lives. I remember that evening, and since then, I’ve had many challenging situations throughout my life. Isaiah 30 is one of those chapters that has positively impacted me. As a young man, I had a desire to write. My grades were okay, but I was not a good student. I wasn’t interested; I was always daydreaming about being elsewhere. My senior year, I had enough credits, so I ended up with four PE classes, which was like heaven on Earth. I preferred sports anyway, so I spent my senior year playing volleyball in the parking lot.
Despite not being confident in my writing ability, I had the desire but not the courage to try. I prayed about it and hoped Dick Mills, a prophet friend of our family who had memorized 7,700 promises in various translations, would provide guidance. At a meeting where many people were present, he called me up and handed me the microphone. The anointing that was on him flowed to me, and I functioned in his gift that night. This experience gave me a taste of that reality and inspired me to pursue writing.
I remember years later waking up in the middle of the night with the voice of the Lord. This only happened to me twice. Imagine being sound asleep, then hearing someone talk to you. He said, «Isaiah 30:8.» When I got up, I opened Isaiah 30:8, and it said, «Now go and write.» This was a turning point for me in my journey of writing small pieces. I have little cabins by lakes from Genesis to Revelation where I can go for refreshment. I remember about 11 years ago going through a personal challenge—a deep struggle. I would read the Psalms until I heard His voice.
I remember getting deep into Psalm 25, and the Lord spoke to me. He didn’t change any circumstances, but He changed me. What we want is to be transformed into the person capable of receiving the blessings we pray for. So often, we want God to add something to our lives without first being transformed into people who can steward what we’ve asked for. The fight is for that purpose is why I find Isaiah 30 so impactful. If you haven’t turned there already, please do so because we’re going to read a couple of verses. I’ll read from the New American Standard because it sounds more like His voice.
Isaiah 30:18–21 states, «Therefore, the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him! O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself. But your eyes will behold your Teacher, and your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it.'»
This passage is one I return to because it feeds me. It’s similar to Joshua 1:5-9, which I revisit often. I have history with those verses; they are safe places. Everybody needs a safe place, whether that’s home, friends, family, or God. One frustrating aspect of my relationship with Him is that He doesn’t always tell me what to do. I want Him to tell me which door to walk through, but often I hear nothing. Eventually, I make a decision, and He affirms it, but sometimes He prompts me only when I’m at the point of decision.
The hunger we need isn’t for a road map but for a guide to lead us. We want the person to meet with Him, to have Him speak to us. Often, when I ask Him many questions, He touches me in a different place entirely because He knows the deeper issues I face. He speaks to us, brings comfort, peace, and sometimes insight into what we should do; other times, nothing changes, but we feel better despite our horrible circumstances.
At the end of the chapter in verse 29, it says, «You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, gladness of heart as one marches around to the sound of the flute, to go to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock of Israel. The Lord will cause His voice of authority to be heard; the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, the flame of His consuming fire.» This is all against our enemy.
When we have this many people in the room, the chances are high that there are those who have never made a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen carefully; there are not many ways to God. If there were, requiring Jesus to be crucified would be cruel. He was the only possible solution—a perfect man dying on behalf of everyone who is imperfect, which is all of us. He made that sacrifice so that everyone here could have a personal relationship with Jesus, to know what it means to be born again.
I want to give an opportunity for anyone in this room to say, «I don’t want to leave until I know I’ve been forgiven by God and that I’m right with Him.» If that speaks to you, please put your hand up right where you are. Thank you, sir. Beautiful. Anyone else? If you raise your hand, I want everyone to stand. If I missed you, please forgive me. I’d like the ministry team to come forward. Would you please honor the one making this confession of faith today? Thank you. Amazing!
I want to pray for you because I believe the Lord wants to release a gift. How many of you say, «I read the word but don’t remember what it says?» I don’t remember what I had for breakfast last week either, but it still nourished me. Just eat. Put your hands in front of you; you’re going to receive a gift. Father, I ask that you make the word of God our eternal safe place. I pray for everyone here; may a new level of history be formed today where we encounter you over the issues, challenges, and opportunities of our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen. If you hold your place, Tom’s going to help us figure out what to do next. Could we give Pastor Bill a big hand? Thankful for that!