Bill Johnson - A Foundation for Growing and Walking In Great Faith
Faith comes from surrender, not striving. It’s the product of yielding to the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the encounters or experiences that He takes us into to think and see differently. What I want to do today is talk about faith, but it will be a little different from the usual faith message. Typically, when I think of discussing faith, I focus on getting amped up to believe for the impossible, and that’s often the case. However, my focus is a little different. The Lord has initiated this relational journey for us here.
Let me bring something to mind: Hebrews 11:6 says it’s impossible to please Him apart from faith. This means faith is quite significant because establishing favor and increasing in the pleasure of the Lord is many times connected to our life of faith. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in recent years is that faith doesn’t grow from striving; it grows from surrender. It’s the place of yielding that brings me into greater and greater faith. Keeping these thoughts in mind helps us avoid the hype, a counterfeit to what real faith is. You can’t self-will your way into great faith. I’ve heard people say, «I’m just going to believe God,» as though they can will themselves into great faith, but that’s not how it works.
Faith comes in one of two ways: number one, it’s a fruit of the Spirit; or, it is a gift of the Spirit. In Galatians 5, it’s mentioned as a fruit of the Spirit. Many translations will use the word «faithfulness,» but it’s the same exact word for faith as you find in 1 Corinthians 12, where it talks about the gift of faith. So let’s discuss these two aspects: the fruit of the Spirit is faith, and the gift of the Spirit is faith. Fruit means it’s something you can develop with use; you can increase its size and impact through use. It’s like a muscle—you develop it through practice. Years ago, someone told me they had zero faith—no faith whatsoever—and I was trying to figure out where they misplaced it because God gives every person a measure of faith. So, I’m not sure if they left it somewhere or what they did. Often, we look in the wrong places for faith because faith doesn’t come from determination; it truly comes from surrender in relationship.
Another important point about faith is found in Romans 10:17, which states that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I think we studied this two or three weeks ago; I know I had some sleep since then, but we talked about it. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes from the Word of God. Faith is the evidence of a current relationship where you’re hearing from God. My capacity to hear is enhanced by literally reading Scripture. It’s pouring myself into the Word of God and pouring the Word of God into me that increases my capacity to hear. This is vital because the Bible also says man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I live because He talks. I’m alive because He speaks. The very fact that God speaks—He breathes His word into my heart day after day, hour after hour—is evidence that I’m alive; He keeps me alive with His voice. A mistake I addressed a few weeks ago is that many times we find ourselves in a position where we simply can’t hear His voice. I asked how many of you have had times when you couldn’t hear His voice clearly, yet you sensed His presence.
The point is that this is His voice. We tend to measure His voice by what we comprehend instead of by who’s in the room. He is the Living Word; He is the Word of God. When He comes in presence like that, He’s generally depositing things in our spirit that are too big or too significant for our minds. I don’t want to fall into that trap, so let me back away here. He speaks to your spirit and deposits things. For example, you’re sitting here this morning worshiping—great worship, and we’re just enjoying Him. There’s interaction between the Holy Spirit and your spirit. The Bible says we worship God in spirit and in truth. In spirit means we are engaged with the Holy Spirit Himself, who guides, leads, and empowers us in this time of thanksgiving and praise. To worship in truth means nothing is hidden. I am here with all my pain, breakthroughs, testimonies, questions, and all my stuff laid out on the table.
I am not presumptuous; I don’t pretend to be something I’m not. I am here as a child with problems, and I lay all of it before Him as part of my worship expression. There’s something about that kind of interaction with Him where you know you’ve had moments with an insurmountable problem that you can’t explain, yet you walk out of that moment with peace. You might not even know what to do, but it feels almost like it doesn’t matter. You realize, in those moments, that the peace of God just comes. What happened? He’s ministered to you deeper than your mind can comprehend. If we don’t learn to recognize that, we won’t know that He is actually speaking words of life into us that literally keep us alive.
There are times when the Lord speaks to you. For example, Job has this great dialogue in the Book of Job about God visiting us at night, placing things in our hearts that are too big for us to handle if He gave them to us in the day. The reason is that we can become egocentric, thinking more highly of ourselves than is healthy, and so the Lord deposits these deep things in us, which mature and eventually surface.
The point is, God is always talking to us. The issue with many of us is that we sit in our spiritual recliners, saying, «God, I’m hungry for revival. If you want me to experience it, you know where I’m at. Just come and visit me.» That kind of approach to God’s things is very dangerous because it means you’re only going to get what He sovereignly determines you’re to get, and your hunger has no role in the outcome of your life. That didn’t sound right; let me rephrase it. Most of what you need in life will be brought to you; however, most of what you want, you’ll have to go get. There is a responsibility to seek and pursue, even the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, which are again repeated in 14, where it says pursue earnestly spiritual gifts.
So the revelation of the gifts does not deposit gifts; they must be independently pursued because they’re in the work of humility. James 1:21 says to receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul. Interesting. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, it says the Word of God is effective. The word «effective» is the energy of God. Picture it this way: God’s energy doesn’t run out. He doesn’t shut off. Fire doesn’t scare Him. The energy of God is contained in the Word that He speaks.
Here’s the deal: One of our guys shared a great testimony recently. We had some students in Texas, and Joel Power gave this word of knowledge, pointing to a lady and asking if she had a son whose name starts with the letter «J.» He said God is healing something in his brain. It turned out the son, named Joshua, has autism and had never spoken. When she got home, he spoke in complete sentences and answered her. You can say those words from now until Jesus returns and have nothing happen, but when they originate in the Father’s heart, we see life-changing words.
God has the heart to shape the course of history and change lives around us; He has put everything in motion for there to be solutions. He’s just waiting for people like you and me to hear and then say what He’s saying.
All right, let’s turn to Hebrews 4. This will be our last portion of Scripture today. Hebrews 4 presents a contrast between the New Testament Church coming into a place of rest, a place of absolute unity in Christ, and Israel trying to enter the Promised Land. The Promised Land is also referred to as a place of rest.
Hebrews 4:2 reads: «For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.» There are two things I want to draw your attention to. First, the word they heard didn’t profit them. What does this imply? Every time God talks to you, He wants you to profit. Don’t reduce that to simply a raise at work; it may occasionally include money, but it’s not just that. It’s about the life of God coming into us in a way where things just work and function as they were designed to function.
He said the word did not profit them because the word was not mixed with faith. Looking down at verse 6: «Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience.» Now think with me: Did they not enter because of disobedience or because they didn’t unite the Word with faith? It says they failed to enter because they didn’t unite the Word with faith. It also states they didn’t enter due to disobedience.
What is this? Yes, two sides of the same coin! If you evaluate your faith, you’ll never do anything; that’s the wrong place to look. I cannot fixate on whatever level of faith I have or don’t have. My only question is, what does He want me to do? Because I can always obey. You can obey your way into great faith. The question isn’t whether I have enough faith; the question is what did He say to do? Am I supposed to act? Am I supposed to go? Am I supposed to give? Am I supposed to rest? Am I supposed to pursue? Am I supposed to fast? What am I supposed to do? That’s all I need to know because I think I can obey myself into great faith.
Verse 11: «Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.»
Let’s take that last phrase: «The Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.» This is not saying the Word of God helps you discern the thoughts and intentions of another person. I heard someone say recently that the Word of God does not enable us to discern someone else’s thoughts and intentions. The Bible says no one can know your own heart. How in the world are you going to know someone else’s? You’ve got a full-time job wading through your own heart to figure out what’s going on. People come and say, «Oh, that person is just trying to do this, and the reason they’re doing that is…» Just stop! You don’t know what you’re talking about. The next time you feel that urge, just look for the sign that says «No Trespassing.» Don’t go there; it’s not legal territory for you to trample.
The Word of God enables us to see our own heart. It works as a mirror, allowing us to see things clearly—not to shame us, but always to invite us. He doesn’t expose to ridicule; He exposes to say, «That attitude there? That won’t work and won’t last much longer.» You know it’s kind of like when Moses could only go so far without having to take care of some things with his family. He couldn’t continue until he made the necessary decisions.
Sometimes, you can go as far as you can, but you need to make a decision, and it’s the Word of God that clarifies our hearts. I will end with this thought, based on Romans 10:17, which I spoke to you about a few weeks ago but bears repeating: «Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.» Faith does not come simply from hearing the Word of God. It comes from hearing. Hearing comes by the Word of God.
This opens and empowers our capacity to hear the voice of God. It is His voice that releases faith for the moment, but it is this that keeps us accurate and centered with what He’s saying. Oh goodness, I know I’m going off track here, but I’ll make one more point. When the Lord speaks to you, it’s very affirming, right? There’s a sense of affirmation. There is something that builds your identity and purpose.
However, we sometimes struggle to distinguish between the affirming moment when God has spoken to us and the feel-good moment when we have a desire that we hope is God. I’m not sure if I said that very clearly, but I know what I meant, and it was really good. For example, if someone prays over you, saying you’re going to receive a great inheritance, we can easily convince ourselves it must be God. We can even quote verses to make it sound like it’s from God, but what happens is that feel-good thing that we felt? We haven’t learned to discern between what is born of the Spirit of God and what comes out of our own gratification.
That’s what the Word does—it cuts. It clearly distinguishes between self-gratification, which can feel good, and the will of God, which is Spirit-led. It’s your privilege to co-labor with the Almighty God. This is life-giving; it brings life to you and everyone you influence. The Word of God cuts, and I’m going to share with you one of my favorite subjects today.
I want to look at a story from Mark 9, but I will read a verse from Matthew 13. I know it can be risky to take elements from one parable or story and mix them with another, as they don’t always translate well from story to story and can potentially lead to false information, so I’m warning you ahead of time that I’m going to do that, and you’ll have to sort that out for yourself.
For example, the fire of God is always the judgment of God, except for that one time in Acts 2 when the fire of God was manifested as tongues of fire, and tongues are a language of praise and edification—not judgment. The snake is always the devil except for that one time it was Jesus on the cross who became sin on our behalf. Earthquakes are always judgment, except for that one time in Acts 4 when, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the entire place trembled because of His presence.
So, don’t become too rigid. I will ask you to approach these two stories loosely because I think one will give us the insight we need for the other. Now, I will begin with the parable of the seed and the sower. I’m only going to read one verse, but I want to remind you that if you’re unfamiliar with the story, the seed in this parable represents the Word of God, while the soil represents the condition of the heart.
It is a crucial lesson that the productiveness of the fruitfulness of the Word that God spoke does not validate whether or not it was from God; that parable actually presents four different kinds of soil, three of which were unproductive. The word was authentic, but it just didn’t bear fruit, and the fault wasn’t with what God said. See, many people make the mistake of saying, «Well, we’ll know whether this was a work of God or not by the fruit.» That is true to some extent, but let’s remember that Jesus healed ten lepers, and only one returned to give thanks. Did that mean the other nine were falsely healed?
No! The validity of His word is not proven by what we do with it; it’s about what we choose to believe. In this illustration, we read in verse 22: «He who receives seed among thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.»
So here’s the picture: My wife is the master gardener. Although she hasn’t been gardening lately due to illness, we still have a garden. The pepper plants are not this tall, but the weeds certainly are. We’ve been invaded by weeds in this garden because we planted certain seeds, but due to neglect, other seeds are competing for nutrients, absorbing moisture, and overshadowing the plants that were meant to be bountiful and provide food. The word of the Lord is the same way.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Say it with me: «Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.» Again: «Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.» It does not say that faith comes simply from hearing the word of God. If it did, we could just go home, put on YouTube, and play scripture for the next 24 hours, and by Friday, we’d have the kind of faith that Wigglesworth had. It just doesn’t work that way.
Faith comes from hearing; it’s your connection to the voice of God, but the voice of God is activated by your exposure to the Word. That’s what enhances and trains your hearing.
Now, here’s the challenge: I’ve received a word that God spoke to me, but I also have another idea, some disappointment, criticism, and complaints—all these negative seeds are vying for the same nutrients. The Bible says what happens? It says the cares of this world, the other interests, burdens, and concerns can expand to increase our cares. The enemy works to expand our busyness, increasing distractions because if he can increase our cares, he plants seeds that compete with the word of God.
Mark 9:17: «Then one of the crowd answered and said, 'Teacher, I brought you my son who has a mute spirit. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes at his teeth, and becomes rigid. I spoke to your disciples that they should cast it out, but they could not.'»
He answered him, saying, «O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?» Let’s pause here. I love this translation, but I’m annoyed by their use of the word «faithless» because that’s not what it says. The literal word is «unbelief,» and there’s a difference. Unbelief is not the absence of faith; it’s the presence of unbelief.
Later, he says, «I believe, but help my unbelief.» The problem is, you can have more than one seed growing in your garden. To call it a faithless garden is not accurate because faith exists there too. Are you following my analogy? To say it’s a faithless garden would not be correct; there’s just unbelief there. People often come to me saying, «I have an intellectual bent.» Oh, you mean you have an unbelieving bent.
It’s nothing to be proud of. God is quite intelligent, and that doesn’t interfere with His faith. So if my intellect affects my faith, I know the wrong things. I’m filling my garden with seeds that compete with what God is saying—seeds that compete with my destiny. True faith opens access to your highest intelligence.
I believe in the days ahead, we will see the greatest intellectualism emerge from faith. Yes! The Bible says, «By faith, we understand that the worlds were made out of nothing.» We don’t understand because we believe; we understand because we believe.
Faith gives us access to a level of understanding that cannot be achieved through reason. A renewed mind is crucial for the Lord in your life every single day; He constantly speaks to us, leading us into experiences and encounters that reposition us for new ways of thinking—not just creatively but in thinking like Christ.
The renewed mind creates a context for faith. It’s important to understand that faith doesn’t come from the mind; the Bible says it’s with the heart that one believes unto righteousness. So faith isn’t an intellectual matter, but the renewed mind creates the context for faith, much like the banks of a river create a context for the river to flow.
The renewed mind was what the Centurion understood about God and the Kingdom that impressed Jesus, who called it faith. This understanding impressed Him. However, it’s not the product of discipline. Self-discipline is essential, and I don’t want to downplay its importance.
I believe in discipline, but it creates the context for something to happen. Faith comes from surrender, not striving; it is the product of yielding to the Spirit of God and the Word of God and the experiences He leads us into to help us think and see differently.
Enemies to the renewed mind are clear. Everything the enemy wants to do in our life aims to disengage us from a renewed mind. He wants people to think in ways that, while they may seem logical and reasonable, are actually hostile towards God and His ways.
The mindset on the flesh is hostile towards God; it’s not neutral. It’s not just having a bad day; it’s at war with the things of God. Understand that the mindset of the flesh is the problem, but the mindset on the Spirit is life and peace.
The mindset on the Spirit is capable of moving in great faith. We’ll wrap up here shortly, but turn to James 3 in your Bibles. I want to read something from there in just a moment. I perceive something like «looking through a glass darkly,» where I’m peering through, unable to see clearly, but I do see this: The scripture says, «By faith, we understand that the worlds are made out of nothing.»
I do believe the Lord is introducing us to an understanding that will benefit humanity. This understanding doesn’t elevate you or me as some Christian smarty-pants; it elevates the fact that He has the whole world in His heart, and there are practical solutions for every problem. He knows what they are, and surrendered and yielded people will come into those solutions. As we grow in our own faith, I believe there will be more dreams, more visions, and more expressions.
Sometimes you get a dream or a vision that seems supernatural, and sometimes, you simply work hard and come to a right conclusion, and that can also be the work of God. I know from talking to Brian that our team writes songs, and there are moments when songs just seem to come naturally. Yet two-thirds of the song may be written quickly, but the last third often requires grinding it out over time, and both are necessary.
So, I believe the Lord will release understanding for creative solutions and expressions. Now, by faith, we understand the prayer language God gives us. Sometimes our thoughts aren’t clear; the Bible says we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit within us does.
It’s always best to start with His prayer before adding our heart, mood, faith, and perspective. This makes our prayers much more powerful. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is part of that. When He said in Luke 24, «Don’t leave Jerusalem until you receive this gift from the Father,» which was the outpouring of the Spirit, He defined it as being clothed with power.
The real evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is power. Many people settle for good theology and stop short of a divine encounter. The revelation of scripture should take us into an encounter with the person that transforms us.
Power serves two primary functions: the first, the most obvious to us, is miracles—miracles happen where people walking in power can bring the impossible to pass. The second purpose of power is endurance. Many waver during difficult times because they’ve never experienced a baptism of fire.
The friends I know who have gone through the greatest trials—from imprisonment to beatings to the terrible things you read about in Scripture and hear about in church news—those friends who endured had a great baptism of fire. There was something in that encounter with God that transformed them deeply, allowing them to hold the course even when circumstances seemed to deny the promise.
What the Lord is seeking is not necessarily the creation of conflicts in our lives; rather, He’s looking for a people who will hold fast to what He has said, regardless of the circumstances. It’s not mental strength that enables us to do that; it’s the Spirit of God upon us.
It’s not our self-imposed discipline or the vows and promises we’ve made, «Oh God, I’ll stick with it.» Look at Peter—he had three and a half years of interaction with the miraculous and The Miracle Worker, yet he said, «I will never deny You.» His determination was the strongest of all of them, but determination itself cannot take us where we need to go; it’s the grace of God, the empowering presence of God, and His fiery work upon our lives that enables us to bring miracles and endure until they come.
We’ve been summoned by the Lord for this lifestyle. What I just read to you in John chapter 20 is a bit different, as this occurs before the day of Pentecost. Keep in mind what this means: this is before the day of Pentecost. Jesus has risen from the dead, but this is during the 40-day period when He is still visiting His disciples, imparting words about the kingdom, giving direction about His plans, and teaching them. For 40 days, He appears and instructs them. At one point, He breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit.
We have to ask, was this symbolic of something going to be released on them on the day of Pentecost? The group He breathed on was also part of the 120. This may not be significant to you, but I find it profound. I’ve heard my whole life that the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost. That may be true, but when were these 11 born again? It was in the receiving of the Holy Spirit! Even though they had the Spirit of God living in them, they still needed that baptism of fire.
This baptism of fire is not a one-time experience. If you think, «Been there, done that,» you’ve probably lost the flame entirely. It might be smoldering; you may have a testimony from a past event, but when you’re on fire, you’re contagious. Fire creates an appetite for the impossible.
If that appetite for the impossible is absent, I suggest you seek a fresh baptism. Ephesians 5 says, «Don’t be drunk with wine; be filled with the Holy Spirit.» Listen to the words: we are commanded to be full. This isn’t one of several doors you can choose to walk through if you feel like it; it’s a command placed upon our lives to be filled with the Spirit. Jesus told the 11, «Go, but stay until you can go.»
There is a difference between the fire of God that the heroes of faith walked in after the day of Pentecost and what many of us have experienced. I don’t want to downplay anyone’s experience. I’m grateful for everything God has done for me, but I remain aware that there’s more for me.
The healthiest posture of my life is thankfulness and hunger—these two things are two sides of the same coin. I don’t ever want to separate the two because if I get hungry without thankfulness, I will live in frustration. If I’m thankful without hunger, I will become complacent.
Those who had the baptism of fire on Acts 2 said of themselves, «We cannot help but speak of the things we have seen and heard.» They couldn’t help but speak. These experiences erupted from their souls, leading them to declare the things they had tasted and seen. Somehow, 120 isolated people poured out into the streets, changing the atmosphere of an entire city.
Being «drunk» with the Holy Spirit was the intention; it became a byproduct. If you make the main thing the main thing, you get all the parts. «Don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.»
These are contrasting experiences—natural intoxication versus spiritual intoxication. The remarkable thing about being intoxicated with the Holy Spirit is that you will never think more clearly in your life. It has a different effect than drunkenness with wine.
If you’ve been around drunk people, whether natural or spiritual, you quickly learn they don’t care what you think. They don’t stagger through a church or down an alley, wondering about people’s opinions. Social media has exaggerated the importance of public opinion. If you study the New Testament, you’ll find that both the Pharisees and the political world—Herod—were governed by the fear of man.
Jesus warned His disciples, «Beware of the leaven of Herod"—the political world—and the leaven of the Pharisees—the religious world. They both made decisions based on fear of men. Jesus would ask the Pharisees a question, and they’d discuss among themselves: «If we say this, the people won’t think that; if we say that, the people will think this.» They offered Him no answer, and Jesus replied, «Neither will I answer you.»
If you can’t conquer the fear of man in your life, you’re not ready for the revelation knowledge I would speak over you. All right, that was Jesus, not me.
Here’s the deal: There is a fresh baptism of the Spirit available for every single person in this room. For some, there’s significant anxiety over this subject, and the Lord may need to minister to you while you sleep. This anxiety has kept Him at bay. Sometimes, it’s so difficult to engage in the experience, He must wait until you’re through working. Otherwise, you might think that what you received was due to your labor.
Once again, faith is not the product of striving; it is not the result of determination. It is not something you choose in a self-willed manner. Faith is the product of surrender. You were born for great faith; you were designed for it. Everything about you is wired to recognize God and hear Him.
Everything about you—your emotional life, intellect, sense of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch—all these senses were given to you as tools to discover Him. Hebrews 5 says we can have our senses trained to discern good and evil. This training is necessary; it doesn’t come simply through acquiring knowledge. There must be training periods where you learn to recognize His presence.
We are prepared to recognize His voice, countenance, and heart. Hebrews 5 indicates that this discernment is the mark of a mature believer. So how many of you have some growing to do?
Having your senses trained to discern good and evil means you’ve trained yourself to recognize presence, voice, mood, and heart. This is absolutely crucial for spiritual maturity. James 3:1 speaks of teachers. In essence, this calls us to remember that discernment comes from our genuine, daily engagement with God, his creation, and realizing that we are shaped by the lens through which we see the world.
This journey is not a sprint; it’s a marathon, requiring patience, humility, and persistent seeking. It is also about surrendering all aspects of ourselves and aligning our hearts with His, positioning ourselves to receive the fullness of His Spirit and to walk in step with Him—in faith and in His presence.