Bill Johnson - Building Cities God's Way
I had an encounter with the Lord over this passage; it changed my life. It transformed me from a person who could only see the tragedy that happens in the last days to someone who looked at what God was wanting to do in those days—redeeming and transforming cities and nations. Since May of '79, I have lived for this one thing: to see cities and nations transformed by a people who walk in His presence, with wisdom and power.
I have a series I call the Solomon Series; it’s actually about wisdom, its effect on the people of God, and how God can use us to bring transformation to culture and society. I believe it is the heart of the Lord. In a couple of weeks, I will present the other side of the message, which is that we need two elements, two realms, to minister effectively. The first is wisdom, which I am addressing in this series, and the last element we will conclude with is power. It’s not one or the other; it’s both in tandem. I will try to clarify this in the coming weeks. I believe the Lord has some truths hidden in Solomon’s life, in his experiences with God, and in his mandate given by God that are vital for us to see and learn so we can be effective in seeing the world around us change. God loves cities; He loves them. We weren’t saved merely for ourselves.
Here’s an interesting phrase I heard a couple of weeks ago that really left a mark on me: «The disciples belonged before they believed.» Think about that—it’s amazing! They belonged; they were part of the twelve, if you will, before they actually believed in who Jesus was. It’s stunning. They followed; they had a lifestyle of learning, adapting, and being impacted. They were ministered to, and through that process, they came to a place of faith. They were not isolated in a one-on-one relationship with Jesus; it was a community. This doesn’t mean we don’t have individual relationships with the Lord—we absolutely do—but we were saved unto something; we were saved into a family, into a community, into the body of Christ, a holy nation, if you will. Throughout scripture, we have this concept of being joined together with other people, and so this idea that the Lord still loves cities is really important. It’s a no-brainer, yet theologically, for decades and perhaps even centuries, at least for the last century or so, the emphasis in the church has been on the disasters of the last days, not the victories. The church has become acclimated to defeat, trial, and difficulty, and has taken on a spirit of the world in its expectations of what could actually happen during our lifetime.
I believe it’s theologically irresponsible to take the great promises of scripture and push them off into a period of time for which we have no responsibility. When we see that nations will come to God, that cities will cry out to Him, that entire people groups will be harvested and brought into the kingdom, we do ourselves and those around us a great disservice when we slot that for a future time. It must be something that ignites us; it must be something that captivates the affection of our hearts, so we learn to stand before the Lord and contend for that breakthrough in our lifetime. I’ll be honest: if it doesn’t happen in my lifetime, I at least want to create significant enough momentum that my children step into that inheritance, and if it doesn’t happen in their lifetime, then their children will. The point is there is only one direction to go: for the cities and nations of the world to be brought into the kingdom of God.
For many of us who have revivalist backgrounds, the cry for the invasion of God, the encounter of God, the trembling in His presence—we tend to think that transformation will take place because those meetings are successful, because those encounters are successful. There’s an element of truth there, but the Lord is raising up a company of people who live intentionally to bring transformation from within the system—not through control and manipulation, but through influence. The Lord is raising up people who become salt, light, and leaven. I’ve talked about it before, but we have many guests, and I want to ensure we are all on the same page. Then we’ll dive into today’s study.
Salt, when the Lord spoke of us being the salt of the earth, was in the context that salt adds flavor. Historically, salt was used to preserve meat, and so my entire life, I taught that us being the salt of the earth means we are a preservative against decay around us; that’s true, but it wasn’t Jesus' main point. The point He made was that when salt loses its flavor, it is good for nothing. The issue is that the people of God add flavor; we are supposed to make life more enjoyable—not just because we have all the answers—which, honestly, I don’t know if God can trust us to be the answer to everything. That puts us in a scary place because we could become too powerful. What I believe the Lord wants is for you to have the same cry that Solomon had. When the Lord appeared to him in his dream, He said, «What do you want? You can have anything you want.» Solomon replied, «I want a hearing ear.»
God says, «Because you didn’t ask for fame, money, or a long life, I will give you all of that plus what you asked for—I will give you wisdom.» So, God’s interpretation of the hearing ear was wisdom. In other words, they are two sides of the same coin. If you want to live a life of wisdom, you must have the capacity to hear from God, because that is where wisdom comes from. So what’s the point? We can get overwhelmed and not know what’s going on, but be confident because we know the One who has the answers. Someone might ask, «What do we do in this situation?» and I might reply, «I don’t know, but I will have an answer in the morning.» And then I get home, and I pray, «Oh God, oh God!» But the point is, we know the One with the answer; we know the book with the solutions. The Lord speaks to Solomon: «You can have anything you want,» and he chose a hearing ear, which the Lord interpreted as wisdom. When salt loses its flavor, it becomes worthless. The word 'worthless' actually means 'foolish.' It’s as though salt represents the wisdom of God and its impact on society. It is the wisdom of the Lord through the believer that makes life more enjoyable; it is not the wisdom of God in control, where we want to be in charge of everything. That doesn’t work—it just doesn’t work for us to try to be in charge.
It’s good for us to be servants of everyone and add to the quality of life, like knowing how to have a good family life or doing business well or reaching out to broken people, etc. Those are the kinds of things that all of us add to the city, making life more enjoyable. That’s the assignment: be salt. How do you do that? You live with great wisdom; you allow the nature of God to see. Wisdom unites the spirit of man with the mind of man. Wisdom is what links the two that seem independent at times; it fulfills the cry of man’s intellect and spirit because it is the mind of Christ.
Light—excuse me, salt and light—you are the light of the world, He says in the Gospel of Matthew. Light exposes, but that wasn’t how He used it. That’s how I taught it because of my discipleship training—we preserve, we expose; that’s who we are. Did anyone else come from that kind of background? I mean, that’s just the way I was taught, but I understand now that we’re here to be a light. He says you are the light of the world; a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. The way He used the phrase 'light of the world' is that you are in a visible place that will attract people who need safety and shelter.
I believe in the Great Commission—go into all the world—but we emphasize that constantly. There’s another aspect that needs to be championed: people come to a city set on a hill; they come to a spring to drink, to a fruit tree to eat. There’s something about being attractive to those who need answers and breakthroughs. In this season, as we emphasize this story, the Lord is highlighting the fact that He’s giving us permission to be fruitful and then give the fruit away. Be fruitful and serve people with what God has added to your life. One qualifier that might be important: It would be foolish for us to wait until we have every area of our lives figured out. Jesus will probably have returned by that time. The best approach is to have fruit in one area and share it while realizing work remains in other areas. I truly believe it’s biblical. When Israel was arguing over who should be the high priest, the Lord chose Aaron. But that wasn’t sufficient for all the tribes. God said, «Fine, take a dead almond branch, put the name of each tribe on it, and I will demonstrate my choice.» They put the 12 dead branches before the Lord’s presence, and when they came back in the morning, 11 branches were still dead, but one branch had sprouts, buds, blossoms, and ripe almonds. Aaron’s was Resurrection Life, which is the mark of divine leadership.
Please note it wasn’t all ripe almonds. Resurrection Life means there is life; it doesn’t guarantee maturity. We all need to have sprouts and some buds; we must continuously develop. Does this make sense? One last comment, and then we’ll get back to our focus here: divine leadership, when correct, makes life better for everyone under its influence. The Bible states that when the righteous are in authority, a city rejoices. Why? Because they simply add flavor. If that’s not the effect, we need to reassess. Proper leadership exists to enhance everyone’s life under its influence; improper leadership is self-serving and self-promoting.
Last week, where we left off—and I need to spend a few minutes today on this—is Solomon in his encounter with God. He laid down to sleep, and the Lord appeared to him, asking, «What do you want?» Solomon said, «I’ll take the hearing ear, wisdom,» but think about the reasoning he used when praying. You ever go to bed worried and you dream about it or have a nightmare about it? Picture Solomon: he’s concerned about his destiny and purpose in life. While the story doesn’t state this, I believe it’s reasonable to interpret that Solomon was overwhelmed by his assignment. If you’re not overwhelmed by your assignment, you don’t see it clearly. Being overwhelmed is the place from which being poor in spirit comes. Poor in spirit is not self-criticism; it’s not self-judgment; it’s not self-condemnation. That’s a counterfeit that might give the feeling of humility but is void of courage and faith. Poor in spirit is the position of absolute dependency on God, which enables us to take risks and experience the invasion of God. Being poor in spirit is positioned for extraordinary breakthrough because it reflects confidence not in our capabilities, but in God’s promises and purposes.
As Solomon was sleeping, he said to God, «I’ll take wisdom; I’ll take the hearing ear.» But he first made this statement: «I’m a child.» He felt overwhelmed with responsibility and said he didn’t know how to go out or come in. Though he was an adult, in comparison to his assignment, he felt like a child. It was this recognition of need and overwhelmed sense of responsibility that led him to pray this profound prayer: «God, I need a hearing ear.» His father, David, likely felt something similar, though David may appear extremely self-confident and aggressive, a mighty warrior sensitive to God’s presence. He embodied both sensitivity and masculinity, carrying more responsibility than anyone else in his day—more wealth, more fame. He prayed in Psalms 131:1, saying, «I don’t involve myself in great matters.» Sometimes, you’ll read the Psalms, and they feel like lyrics to a song without realizing the emotion behind it, — it came from a heart overwhelmed by responsibility.
Both David and Solomon model poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. When you’re merciful, you receive mercy. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When you’re merciful, you receive mercy; when you’re poor in spirit, you get the whole kingdom. The entire realm of God’s dominion is accessible to those who are poor in spirit. This is why Jesus made this profound statement as He looked to the Father: «I thank you for not revealing these things to the wise and learned, but instead you revealed them to babes.» There’s something about recognizing our need that attracts the Lord.
Jesus stood before religious leaders trained in the scriptures, and He made this statement: «It’s the sick that need a physician; the well don’t need a physician.» Of course, He referred to Himself as the answer. Picture this: He’s looking at a spiritually diseased group who failed to recognize their need. In other words, it wasn’t that He wouldn’t have helped them, but the recognition of need is the qualifier. Such geniuses in religious training stood only three feet away from the Messiah they prayed for their entire lives and didn’t even know who He was. Meanwhile, a woman caught in adultery was thrown at His feet; a demonized man, so disturbed he couldn’t see straight, fell before Jesus in worship. A tax collector, a thief who had stolen from his own people, climbed a tree to get a better view of Jesus. There’s something about living with an awareness of need that enables us to see clearly.
How many of you have heard of Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Charles Finney, or Smith Wigglesworth? Can you name their critics? The critics were as powerful in their day as the individuals themselves, yet history diminishes their impact. John and Carol Arnott are, I believe, two of the most poor in spirit people I have ever met in my life. The Lord honored them with a tremendous outpouring 20 years ago, and it’s building again because they have not come to the Lord as experts; they have come as children. The challenge before us is that childlike heart that realizes, despite many years of experience, the need is so great that if the Lord doesn’t show up, we are bound to fail. I am thankful but remain needy, and it’s this combination that they model so well, which I champion whenever I have the chance.
Alright, turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 4. Are you all alive? Help me save some time; put a piece of paper in Isaiah 60; we will go there next. 1 Kings chapter 4, verse 29. God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and a largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore! I love the thought that wisdom satisfies the cry of the spirit of men, largeness of heart. Thus Solomon’s wisdom exceeded the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; his fame was in all the surrounding nations. What I like about this verse is that God is acknowledging the wisdom of people outside of His own nation. Isn’t it amazing that the Lord honored those not of the House of Israel by acknowledging that they had wisdom?
Verse 32: Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He also spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Verse 34 is our key verse: And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Isaiah 60:1—Arise, shine, for your light has come; the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Hold your place there; I’ll come back to it in a moment. On a Thursday in May 1979, I had an encounter with the Lord regarding this passage; it changed my life. It transformed me from a person that could only see the tragedy happening in the last days to one who looked at what God wanted to do for the redemption and transformation of cities and nations. I could take you to the exact spot on the floor where the Lord spoke to me. Since May '79, I have lived for this one thing: to see cities and nations transformed by a people who walk with presence, with wisdom, and with power. Solomon had such extraordinary wisdom that people came from all over the earth, including kings, to sit at his feet and hear him speak of nature, creation, and the mysteries of life. It doesn’t even record what he said; it just mentions he spoke of them, so profound that they would sit there and shake their heads. The common agreement would have been that the servants who sit at your feet are better off than the kings who rule outside this nation. Solomon gave these extraordinary explanations for life, and it transformed culture and society.
I believe he is a prophetic prototype, not of an individual but of a body of believers. Look at the picture again: people came from all over the world to sit at Solomon’s feet and hear wisdom. They came to him; they came to the spring; they came to the garden; they came to the fruit tree; they came to the house; they came to the city set on a hill. That was the point. Isaiah 60:1—Arise, shine, for your light has come. I absolutely believe that verse speaks about you and me, not about some distant day in the future. Jesus, in John 1, is referred to as the light that enlightens every person coming into the world. There isn’t another light coming. When He says arise and shine, for your light has come, there isn’t another light. He came! So get up—you don’t need another prophetic word, another confirming song, or another open door to be able to get up. Just get up and shine, and then your resurrected Lord will arise over you. It’s a profound picture: I’m not going to contain this! I believe in the goodness of God enough to stand up confidently, knowing He will demonstrate Himself in and through me.
Nations will come to your light. See, when you hear that phrase, «Nations will come,» and the church is predisposed to see so few saved and many condemned, we have no ears for hearing the promise that shapes the course of history. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Where have we seen this before? Solomon! That’s exactly what happened: the men of the earth, the kings, the Queen of Sheba—they came from distant parts of the world to sit at his feet because there was something in the wisdom that drew them. There is something in the heart of people that craves the mind of Christ. It’s why they hung around Him.
He wasn’t abusive with His knowledge. He didn’t use it to make people feel bad or to belittle them; it was completely different. He was the shade tree they came to in the midst of their grotesque sins and the many things wrong with their lives. They sought shade under His tree; they sought shelter from His city. It’s the picture of the people of God living with wisdom. Isaiah 60, I find profoundly relevant for us in this subject. Arise, shine, for your light has come; the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the people, but His light will appear upon you. His glory will arise upon you. Nations will come—when the church is so disposed to seeing a few saved and many condemned, we have no ears for hearing the promise. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. The story continues: Isaiah 60, 61, and 62 are profound chapters about God’s purposes in our lifetime. Look at Isaiah 61; this is the passage Jesus quoted in Luke 4 during His inaugural address. He announces the beginning of His ministry. He stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth; it was his turn to read. He stood up and read out of Isaiah 61, verse 1, and these words changed the environment of the room.
The people sat there, absolutely stunned, as they had a moment nobody else had ever had in all of history: «The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. To console those who mourn in Zion, giving them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He might be glorified.»
What is He saying here? He says the Spirit of the Lord came upon me—why? Because there are broken people everywhere. Some don’t see; some are in prison; some are held captive. Some have shattered minds or hearts from experiences in life; some are in deep mourning and need the mantle of praise. Some need consoling; some of their lives have been reduced to ashes. I came to give beauty in place of ashes. I don’t like any religious system that doesn’t value beauty and excellence. Valuable to God, it is. This whole carnal thing—stop it! It illustrates His wonder, His glory. He creates the world, pronounces that it’s good, and sees the goodness of His creation because He is a God of excellence and a God of beauty.
We have the privilege, in everything we do—in how we treat people, in how we speak, how we manage various parts of life—not just to throw money at a problem and think it’ll look better. It’s: Can I approach my life with excellence? Can I bring the best out of myself in every situation? Can I work toward beauty? These things are valuable to Jesus, and He makes this profound analogy of what the anointing is for. But look at verse 4: «And they shall rebuild the old ruins.» Who’s 'they'? It’s only you if you are mentioned in verses 1 through 3; you are granted their chapter. The point is that Jesus builds with the broken—not with those who break things. That’s why He couldn’t build with David; He had to build with Solomon.
«They shall rebuild the old ruins; they will raise up former devastations; they will repair ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.» I realize everyone in this room has been born again because you were broken. You recognized your need and called on the name of the Lord, and He changed your life forever—that’s absolutely true. But listen carefully: a city is restored only when we value the most broken in that city. They are the building teams. I believe in reaching the wealthy and influential. That’s part of the assignment, but without valuing the derelict—the most broken of the broken—there is no healing of the city. It is the primary builders who are key to rebuilding, and that, folks, is the wisdom of God.
Let’s read verse 4 again: «They shall rebuild the old ruins; they will raise up former desolations.» Wow! They will repair ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. How many of you know that as a nation (and I realize many of us come from various nations), particularly in the U.S., we have desolations resulting from many generations undermining the purposes of God? This says the key to the building is often those easiest to reject, those easiest to ignore.
Verse 5: «Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vine dressers. You shall be named priests of the Lord; they will call you servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory, you shall boast.» Back to the first phrase: verse 6, «You shall be named or called priests of the Lord.» Another reason I believe this passage is prophetically dealing with the people of God in this hour is because of that phrase. In Exodus 19:6, the concept of the priesthood of every believer was introduced. God gave it to Moses; picture 12 tribes in Israel. He tells Moses that all His people will be priests, not just the one religious tribe, the tribe of Levi.
What does it mean to be a priest? It doesn’t mean to wear a backward collar or have an office in a cathedral somewhere. It means you are one who ministers to God, to believers, and to pre-believers. You represent people before God and represent God before people. There is that role as well. When Jesus revealed who the Father was, He was representing the Father to humanity. When He prayed about what He had done in John 17, He represented humanity, saying, «God, I gave them my glory that they might be one.»
In Exodus 19, He introduces the concept and points forward, saying you shall be priests of the Lord; Isaiah states, «You shall be priests of the Lord.» First Peter 2:9 states, «You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.» You are—said the law; you shall be—said the prophets; you are—now said the Apostle Peter.
This passage I’m about to open is a can of worms, and I’ll let you figure it out. There is a transfer of wealth and resources coming to the people of God, but it’s for empowering effective service. I believe there’s a benevolence movement that will not only attend to the needs of the poor but also break the cycle of poverty. The Lord is giving us wisdom, and I’ve been crying out for this for years: wisdom to break the cycle of poverty. You know throwing money at the problem does not always fix it; that’s not the answer. Yet, it’s essential to have resources, right?
We have passages like this about the resources of the Gentiles: what’s he saying? I believe he’s saying, «Listen, I’m going to put the wealth of nations at your disposal.» Why? Because you have discovered who you are. You are a formerly broken person who is seeing other broken people healed for rebuilding cities. To do this, we need resources. The challenge before us right now is how we steward resources, favor, and authority.
How well do we handle what’s put in our hands? I believe there’s a message through benevolence, through care. You guys are known for your generosity and kindness to the broken and poor. I remember when my brother moved here from the Bay Area. He moved up here to help run a great ministry worldwide, but when he arrived, he went down to the grocery store to buy food and met someone in need. He stopped, but the person said, «No, someone is inside getting me food.» He went inside and found someone from here already buying food for that person. He said, «I can’t even give food away! It’s frustrating because someone already got there before me.»
The point is, you’re known for your kindness. But let’s think bigger. As the Lord entrusts more resources from the world system around us into our hands, what will we do with it? How can we initiate a benevolence movement? I believe one is starting—let me throw it out: I believe there’s a benevolence movement with resources from Norway, California, and Hong Kong. These are three key places that will begin impacting the course of history and breaking the cycle of poverty over entire nations.
Wisdom is demonstrated by our stewardship of what God puts in our charge. It’s about getting obsessed with this vision—what could happen in our lifetime. Then, all of a sudden, God puts resources, favor, and open doors into your charge, and you’re already prepared to invest it because you know what God has put in your heart to do. We must stay away from the lottery mentality that says, «When the big day comes…» It must already start with what’s in your pocket.
Do I have hope to make a difference? Do I believe it’s possible? We know individuals can be saved; we know families can be saved—but think bigger: think cities and nations. One of the challenges we face is how well we handle those resources, that favor, and that authority. Authority is meant to manifest and demonstrate righteousness and justice.
I’ll end with this: the Bible states there is wealth hidden in the soil of the poor, but injustice keeps it from them. What does this mean? It means resources that could break poverty are just within reach, but injustice stands in the way. So how well do we use our authority? It means we intercede and pray for the breaking of that spirit of injustice.
Finally, people don’t want to be fed only; they want to work and be rewarded for their labor. It’s in their hearts and desires. It’s about being able to speak to that, provide opportunity, and uplift it. This task belongs to the people of God who possess a plan, a vision. I believe we can live intentionally with wisdom to create change.
I’ve gone past my time; I’m sorry. We just need to end this. Why don’t you stand? I’ll conclude while you stand because then I can’t keep going. It’s bigger than you; it’s bigger than me; it’s bigger than Bethel and all the buildings and things we do. I truly believe in these ministries and purposes, but it’s not about that. It’s about having the tools necessary to plant people into the system so they can be a blessing—adding flavor and making life better.
Any leader worth their place makes life better for everybody around them. I want to read this passage, which I’ve shared in this series but will end here. It’s close to my promise: I’ve read this to you before, but it’s worth revisiting. It’s that passage in Proverbs that says, «By wisdom, a house is built.» In the Bible, house very seldom refers to a physical structure. Instead, it usually refers to family and culture.
Wise people are builders. They build families, businesses, and communities through intelligence and insight. Their enterprises are established and endure because of skilled leadership. The hearts of people fill with the treasures of wisdom and the pleasures of spiritual wealth. This makes me happy!
Put your hand on your heart; let’s pray. Father, we embrace this call, this identity shift of being a people who add flavor, a people who provide safety and a safe place. I ask You for such insight on how we navigate this privilege and assignment in life, so that everyone in this room and anyone listening will shift their hearts to know we want to steward what you give us well—from resources to favor and authority. We pray this for the honor of Jesus' name.