Bill Johnson - Knowing God Through Encounter
If I am only familiar with the works of God, I will at least know a miracle is possible; but when I see the heart of God, I begin to see a miracle is probable. What you dwell on shows me what you value; it’s what you treasure. If it’s incorrect, if it’s inferior, if you’re dwelling on something inferior, then it becomes misplaced worship. If it is part of what exists in the realm of God’s kingdom and His rule, think on these things, things that are lovely, have a good report, etc. When I am locked into who He is, just think of this process: enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. All right, what is thanksgiving? A response to the works of God, the actions of God.
What is praise? A response to His nature, His character. So, thanksgiving is my response to a work of God. Now, the Lord spoke, and He said to Israel, «I have revealed my works, but to Moses I have revealed my ways.» The currency that we use in this interaction is our response to what we’ve discovered of Him—the cancer that was healed, the missing vertebrae in the back, and the lady running and dancing, jumping around the room. I hear this news; I don’t ever understand how He does that, but I don’t try to understand it. I don’t try to wrap my head around it; I try to wrap my heart around it. My heart will always take me places my head can’t fit, so I embrace what He’s done and then give an appropriate response. But then what happens? You start seeing He heals, He restores. You become more deeply impressed with His nature as a Father who cares for His own.
So now it’s gone from the works. We never move from the works in the sense that they are valuable because they’re always valuable. Jesus never scolded anyone who pursued Him for a miracle; He never said to somebody, «You should be seeking a relationship with Me and not your eyesight.» He would always perform the miracle to give them access to the relationship. The miracle creates the faith for ongoing encounter; it’s valuable. So we become enraptured, in a sense, with the heart of God. We become sensitive to and aware of His nature. We start functioning differently; we handle problems that come our way. If I am only familiar with the works of God, I will at least know a miracle is possible; but when I see the heart of God, I begin to see a miracle is probable.
There’s an exchange with a person. I perhaps talked a little bit confusingly at the beginning about the emotional response to the anointing, making a distinction between our emotional response and the actual anointing. If we don’t know how to separate, acknowledge, and understand the two, we won’t know how to cooperate with what He’s doing. We will actually think the joy we feel releases the miracle, and it’s just not always the case. Sometimes we want to dance around somebody because we’re so happy, and He’s saying, «Put your hand on the forehead and cast the affliction out.» If we don’t know how to respond to the person who is functioning in operation, then when we lay hands on them, nothing is given. Most of the time, when hands are laid, nothing is released because it’s not an act of faith; it’s an act of symbolism. Faith needs a seed, a confession, and an action.