Bill Johnson - God's Plan for Peace on Earth
Glory to God in the highest! On Earth, peace! What happens there is supposed to affect what happens here. When I engage with what’s happening there, I become the most effective in bringing that reality here. Yes, peace! Good morning and Merry Christmas! I’m praying for prodigals, and at one point he said it might even be your husband. I’m not kidding; I’m not joking here! I actually thought I heard Kathy say, «I’ll take that!» I looked and said, «What?» I thought she was trying to be funny with me. She said, «I said we’ll take that. Oh, we’ll take that!» Yes, yes, Lord, amen! I was just going to agree in prayer with her that the prodigal would come home. Husband, I think it’s going to be today. He finally came home; that’s good! You can stop fasting now.
I don’t know if Christmas is supposed to have jokes, but «Joy to the World!» Thank you! Yes, it is. This is from Father Brendan Laro; I think it was from a year ago, and I forgot to read it. I’m going to paraphrase it: people are telling me that Christmas trees, holly, ivy, and mistletoe are pagan, and I respond by saying, «Yes, I do celebrate one of the holiest days of the year by decorating my home with trophies of my vanquished foes.» I must remember that one; it’s just way too good! Sometimes the amount of self-control it takes to not say what’s on my mind is so immense I need a nap afterward.
If liar’s pants really did catch on fire, watching the news would be more fun. Can you say that on Christmas? The salesman at the furniture store told me this sofa will seat five people without any problems. I said, «Where am I going to find five people without any problems?» I read this; this will be the last one. I read this one a couple of months ago; I still laugh when I think about it. It’s a cartoon, and all the animals gathered around the manger. The camel says, «I will bear him gifts.» The donkey says, «I will carry him.» The fish says, «I will pay his taxes.» Remember there’s a gold coin in the fish’s mouth. The cow says, «I will quench his thirst.» The dove says, «I will bless his baptism.» The duck says, «I will feed him.» The sheep says, «I will warm him.» The pig says, «I will let him fill me with demons, and then I’ll jump off a cliff.» Wait, what? Oh goodness, that’s seriously funny; whoever did that one did a great job!
Well, Merry Christmas! I want to read a portion of Scripture for you, and then we’re going to share in communion, and that’s our day together. I want to read this from the Passion Translation. Let me just read it to you; it’s a part of the story we don’t always read. We try to choose the story of the wise men, the announcement of the birth, and those kinds of things. This part of the story is where Mary is now pregnant as she goes to visit her aunt Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. Mary, of course, has the Virgin birth, carrying the Christ child. Elizabeth’s birth is also a miracle, but not to the same level. She was unable to have children, and now she’s about to give birth to John the Baptist.
At the moment her aunt heard Mary’s voice, the baby within Elizabeth’s womb jumped and kicked. How many women are feeling her pain right here at this moment? The baby jumped and kicked, and suddenly Elizabeth was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. With a loud voice, she prophesied with power: «Mary, you are a woman given the highest favor and privilege above all others, for your child is destined to bring God great delight. How did I deserve such a remarkable honor to have the mother of my Lord come and visit me?»
Stop and think about that for just a minute. Jesus actually addressed one of the major difficulties in receiving a miracle. Oftentimes, God will use people we know and are familiar with. He said, «A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown.» The whole concept is that familiarity actually prohibits us from receiving gifts, anointing, and breakthrough from people we know well. Jesus, of course, was known well in his hometown, and now he was announcing he was the Christ. But this story breaks the mold because the aunt, the superior, Mary, walks into the room. There’s no announcement, no Bible study proving this is the Christ; there’s just this moment where she walks into the room, and the baby within her, John, recognizes the Messiah just entered the womb.
He can’t see; he can’t hear; he can, of course, hear noises, but he’s not able to recognize, and yet something in him leaped as he began to rejoice in the womb. Because in the womb, it’s not just a fetus; it’s a child, and in the womb, he began to rejoice and celebrate at the presence of the Lord. Stunning! The fact that she gave honor to Mary, I just think it’s worth noting. She said, «How did I deserve such a remarkable honor to have the mother of my Lord come and visit me? The moment you came in the door and greeted me, my baby danced inside me with joy!»
Wow! Every pregnant woman in the room, your child can experience joy; they can be taught the joy of the presence of God in the womb! Yes, that’s good! Great favor rests upon you for you have believed every word spoken to you from the Lord.
The last point I’ll make here, and then we’re going to share in communion, is great favor rests upon you for you have believed. It doesn’t just say great favor rests upon you because you are giving birth to the Christ child; it backed up in the logic of it and said the favor is there because you believed. She didn’t understand; she couldn’t comprehend how she could become pregnant without knowing a man. There was not understanding, but there was willingness, yielding, and surrender.
She prayed a prayer we’ve been praying as a group for, I think Dick Joyce is the one who first introduced it to us, maybe 40 years ago. It’s the prayer that Mary prayed: «Be it unto me according to your word.» Say that with me: «Be it unto me according to your word.» The Lord will always speak about your future in a way greater than you can comprehend, and that’s how you know it’s Him. He talks to us about where He’s taking us, and He looks for one thing: that I believe what you say! I don’t understand it; I can’t bring it about myself, but I am yielding to your purposes, to your will, to your word.
Say it one more time: «Be it unto me according to your word.» I want you to take the communion emblems out and pull the bread out. I didn’t get one, by the way; I normally do, but I used it last meeting. If you need one, if you don’t have the elements, put your hands up, and ushers, if we could get you some assistance here. Oh goodness, we have quite a few! If we could get some of our team running back and grab a basket or something?
Yes, thanks! Don’t become weary in well-doing; just keep your hand up. There we go; beautiful! We want to bless and welcome all of our online community as well. It’s such an encouragement to me to realize how many thousands and thousands of believers join us week after week from all over the world, and we just bless you! We love you in the name of the Lord.
I want to address a couple of things in communion today. Christmas time, we rightfully celebrate the birth of Christ. I was just thinking during worship today, «Man, we need to pull up some of these songs in July.» I mean, they’re just gospel; they’ve just got to shock everybody! But let’s just bring them up! «Joy to the World» is an all-year-long song, and oh anyway, don’t be surprised next July, maybe June—who knows?
But we celebrate, rightfully so, the beauty and wonder of the Virgin birth of Christ. But what you hold in your hands is why He came. I take this wafer, whether I’m here with you or at home; I buy these by the box and take communion at home. I like to take this wafer; I like to break it. I like to hear the sound of it breaking because it’s a reminder to me: He became broken so that I could be whole. He became empty so I could be filled. He was rejected so I could be accepted. He was despised so I could be celebrated. He became sin so that I could become His righteousness. He bore affliction so that I could be healed. He went low so I could be exalted.
It’s the truth! Yes! He came to take our place in death so we could take the place He rightfully deserved in life. It’s called salvation. No one can earn it, but you can receive it; it’s a gift! This broken body—I was reminded once again in Corinthians when Paul talks about what he received from the Lord. He received a revelation from God of the purpose for this; it’s very profound. Read it on your own. But there’s one phrase that I want to take. It says, «On the night in which He was betrayed,» when He sat down with the guys and shared the bread as His broken body, the wine as His blood, when He shared that in this communal setting, it was the night He was betrayed.
Interestingly, right before that, He washed all of their feet. So we’ve got Judas' feet being washed, and then at the communion table, He’s there at least for the first part with Judas, the betrayer. A quote I read—I think it was last week—that really touched me, he said, «Our Christianity is not proven by our love for Jesus; it’s proven by our love for Judas.»
We live in a highly offensive culture and society where you will always be applauded for helping the victim, as we must, but you will often be despised if you help the victimizer. And yet, this gospel is just that! Everybody in this room has been abused, lied to, and treated unfairly, but also, everybody in this room has done something wrong—maybe just simple verbal stuff. You’ve been, on some measure, the victimizer, losing your temper, becoming angry, whatever it might be. The point is we are here together because He loves both the victims and the victimizers. Judas betrayed Jesus, but so did the other eleven, and Jesus washed all of their feet knowing what was about to happen. Yeah, He broke the bread and shared with them knowing what was about to happen.
So as we partake of this today, we’re going to do so seeking what was announced at the birth of Christ: glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace, good will towards men. It’s the reason for this; it’s the reason for glory to God in the highest! On Earth, peace! What happens there is supposed to affect what happens here. When I engage with what’s happening there, I become the most effective in bringing that reality here. Yes, peace!
One last comment, and then we’ll share in the bread and the body together. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul’s talking about the separation of Jew and Gentile. I think it illustrates actually the greatest division in all of human history: the Jew and the Gentile—the qualified for God versus the unqualified; the haves and the have-nots. You can fill out your list; it’s these two. And it says in Scripture that Jesus bore in His flesh when He was crucified, when He died, He bore in His flesh the wall that divided them.
Just think with me, there is a legal separation between the two, and He took that entire wall that separates the two and allowed that wall to rest on His body in His death so that He could destroy its power. That means there is no division on the planet that can withstand the wonder and the beauty of the Gospel! Yes, amen! None! The greatest was defeated; everything else is cake from there! Yes, come on!
All right, why don’t you stand? Oftentimes when we partake of the broken body of Jesus, I emphasize the scripture, «By His stripes, His torn flesh, His body.» What we hold in our hand—by His stripes, we are healed! I believe that with all my heart that there is something we need to proclaim. I believe the Lord’s going to enable us to taste of divine health, and part of it is connected to this beautiful celebration of the Lord’s Supper. But today, what I want you to do primarily is take 30 seconds or so and pray for some family member, some neighbor, work person, or some situation that you know of where there’s division and conflict.
I want you to make a decree that what Jesus has accomplished is more than enough to heal that separation and destroy the spirit of that division. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, it’s a commandment: preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. It does not say create it because you can’t create it; He already created it. You and I can only mess it up, and so He says, «Preserve it.» So I want you to take 30 seconds and just pray for someone that needs reconciliation and healing, and do it in light of the broken body of Jesus.
Yes, thank you, Lord! We confess your word: glory to God in the highest! Be exalted in the highest places! High praises, high praises! And on Earth, peace, good will towards men! We just declare that no separation, no division is greater than the power of the Gospel, so we declare peace over our family line in Jesus' name.
Receive the broken body together! Take the cup, open it—it’s one of the main reasons I don’t use a handheld mic; I couldn’t possibly do that; it’s like I would get it all over me. I just know I would! I stand before my family photo day after day; we have several of our whole family, but one is the newest, and I like to stand in front and pray for each family member, each family group.
I actually lightly touch, hoping I don’t get the photo too oily where I have to replace it! But anyway, I put my hands and touch each one, and what I pray is: I declare this first of all over my family: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!» I want you to say that with me: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!» Just for this one statement, close your eyes and hold the cup before the Lord because you’re holding out the legal basis for that decree.
Let’s say it again together: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.» And then I pray for each one by name. We don’t have time for you to cover your entire family line, but you can cover some part of your family in just a moment. What I pray are three very specific things day after day after day: number one, God, we will serve you in purity. Holiness is important; we will walk in purity.
Number two, we will do so with passion. We’re going to be all in; everything about us is in this devotion to you. And then thirdly, we’re going to do so with power. We refuse to do this gospel apart from power; we’re not trying to be in form only, but we want to bring a message that transforms lives. So I want you to take another 30 seconds and pray for some members of your family, just by name, before the Lord. Yes, just for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
Lord, health and wellness, Father, we pray for our families. We stand before you with joy, praying for our families—those who are walking with you, those who are not. We just declare, «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!» We acknowledge that the blood of Jesus is enough to cover even the worst sins in any of our households. Yes, Lord!
I pray right now that this Christmas season into New Year’s would be a season of great visitation, as has been announced in our offering reading today: open heavens, open heavens, visitations, encounters, and angelic visitations! We pray these things over our family for the honor of the name Jesus. Let’s take and receive the blood together. Thank you, Lord!
Wow, wow, wow! You know what? That’s the way to spend Christmas right there! Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a Passion Translation and could really use a large print right here? Yeah? All right, here it’s yours! There we go! I forgot my coat this morning; I came all the way to the office and went, «Where’s my coat?» So I went home to get it; I couldn’t find my keys. I thought I left them in my office; they’re in a lock box. I finally got it open, got in the house, and found my keys were in my pocket! I grabbed my coat and forgot my Bible!
You’re all over me! I don’t forget my Bible going anywhere! I forgot my Bible! So I went to my office and said, «I must have a Passion Translation!» I had several editions, and I thought it’s going to be Christmas for someone today because I’m so—Merry Christmas! God bless you guys! Come on up and wrap this thing up! Merry Christmas!