Bill Johnson - Set Up for Victory (Promises from Psalm 23)
He places the table in the presence of the enemy, not so the enemy can kill, steal, or destroy, but so that there is ongoing testimony of the nature of God and His redemptive purpose in fallen humanity: to restore us to a place that reminds the enemy, «You did not win; you only set us up for a greater victory.» He says, «You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.» Oh boy, you prepare a table for me! Did you see it? Did you read it? You prepare a table before me; you prepare the table and put it in the middle of the enemies. What is the table? A table is a place of nourishment, interaction, fellowship, family, and intimacy. Remember Mephibosheth from the Old Testament? His legs were lame, but he was brought to the table of the king, so his lameness was covered at the table of the Lord. Here is this table of deep fellowship, closeness, and tenderness with God, and God says, «I’m going to put it in the middle of the enemies.»
What’s happened to so many believers is that all they can see are the enemies, and they define their circumstances by the enemies they see instead of by the Lord who is seated across the table with intimate interaction and fellowship. There is a place of intimacy and fellowship with Him that actually causes all these hellish things to dissolve and disappear. It’s not even that they’re gone; it’s just that they don’t matter. The Bible says, «If God is for you, who can be against you?» It doesn’t mean no one can be against you; it just means no one can be against you and be given a chance to vote. No one against you ever gets to vote; they have no ability to contribute to a conclusion or decision determined by the one who is the Lord. He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
I think one of the most frequent challenges I see among people I love and care for is that they become so aware of the enemies that are there and not the Lord who is there. In your darkest situation, it’s a table of fellowship. See, most people don’t have a financial problem; they have a lordship problem. They don’t have a relationship problem; it’s a lordship problem. It’s not an anxiety issue; it’s a lordship issue. At the heart of so many things is this: when I try to fix things myself instead of resting in a place of tender surrender, do I make a mountain out of a molehill? Do I exaggerate the size and effect of something?
Here the Lord is telling us, «Listen, I’ve set you up for victory ahead of time, and just to prove it, I’m going to take you through a dark valley.» When we get there, I’m going to put a banqueting table up, and it’s going to be you and me sitting down. It basically means that every time you say «I love you» to Jesus, He puts it on the devil’s intercom; He just makes the devil listen to your affection and love for Jesus because He places the table in the presence of the enemy, not so the enemy can kill, steal or destroy, but so that there is ongoing testimony of the nature of God and His redemptive purpose in fallen humanity to restore us to a place that reminds the enemy, «You did not win; you only set us up for a greater victory.»
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Anyone ever have the chocolate sundae at Moonstone? Can you say «will of God»? Yes! For those of you who are not enlightened, it’s a large goblet on a platter filled with ice cream, and then they pour chocolate on it until it overflows and fills the plate. Will of God overflows. The outcome of this is that your chocolate sundae will overflow. He says, «My cup overflows.» There is more pouring through me than I could possibly contain. I am a fountain of resource and life for countless people because I’ve remained in a place of trust in the darkest of times, and what’s happened in me is that He’s created in me a fountain of life that will feed and nourish many.
It’s the result of the lordship of Jesus; He can trust you with greater capacity and greater influence simply because you found His presence in the darkness and made it your feeding place. The result is that you will have more than you could have asked for, more than is even necessary. Your cup overflows; your head is anointed; your thought life is immersed in the anointing of the Spirit of God, and out of your heart flow rivers, rivers, rivers of living water. He then concludes with this: «Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.» The Lord goes before me; I’ve got two angels behind me—goodness and mercy—they just pick up the slack. They keep going; don’t stop now! This is no place to stop; they pick up the things I drop. But this goodness and mercy dwelling in the house of the Lord! You were designed to live in the manifested presence of the Lord. Did I mention the person who got healed came in on the Friday night service? I’m sorry; this is my third service; I forget what I say where. Hi! Good morning!
So here, a person walks into a room and is healed of cancer without anybody praying for them. Several years ago, one of our staff members, an international staff member, was coming through customs in San Francisco, and the customs agent has him at the desk; he’s international, he has a green card, he works here, and the guy looks at him suddenly and says, «Where do you work?» He said, «Bethel Church.» The agent replies, «Is that the church that has a prayer house up there that’s open?» He says, «Yeah, it is.» The agent says, «Let me tell you a story: a friend of mine was dying of stage four cancer. He drove up to Redding, walked into the prayer house, and was completely healed of cancer. He drove back, and then he looked at the pastor and stamped his passport saying, „Welcome home.“ What happened? Somebody’s cup was overflowing! Come on, somebody’s cup was overflowing! That lack mindset has got to go! A lack mindset is only the product of fear; it is not true; it is not truth. I may be going through a valley of the shadow of death, but I am not a person bound by lack. I am a person in process. I like outcomes; He likes process. I like the end result, the breakthrough, the miracle, or whatever; He likes the journey. We think differently, yes, we do. I want the outcome; He says, „Ah, but you get to trust me the whole way.“
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It doesn’t mean you come to church forever; it means that we live in His presence continuously, forever—that everywhere you go, the house of the Lord becomes manifest. It’s always a chance in a crowd this size that there are people here who have never made a confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, for your healing, for your deliverance. Jesus went to the cross with you in mind, with me in mind, and He made it possible that every person in this room, at a moment like this, could place their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin and for the healing and transformation of a broken life.
Everyone in this room needs it; everyone has been brought to this point today for this reason. Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and He invites every person here who may not have a personal relationship with Him into that personal relationship. If there’s anybody here in that position, just say, „Bill, I don’t want to leave the building until I know that I’m at peace with God, that I know what it is to be forgiven, that I know what it is to be brought into God’s family.“ I want you to put a hand up right where you are. I don’t want to miss anybody who does this. So put your hand up; I want to see who you are. There’s somebody right over here; yes, wonderful, wonderful! Anyone else? Okay, right back over here is another one; wonderful, wonderful! Bless you; beautiful—it’s the most beautiful thing.