Bill Johnson - Knowing the God of the Breakthrough
The circumstances occurring politically, economically, and ecologically—wherever you slice it—show that the enemy has succeeded in raising up voices that best represent hopelessness. It has become politically correct to be hopeless, but it’s not right. It’s not Kingdom. Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace and goodwill toward men—that is the will of God. It’s good to see you. The Lord revealed Himself to King David in a unique way: throughout history, He unfurled one of His names, displaying His nature, as He did with Abraham (or Abram, at that time) when He revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. But in this situation with David, he needed an extraordinary breakthrough, and the Lord revealed Himself as Baal Perazim, meaning the God of the Breakthrough.
On the day Jesus was baptized in water, the Bible describes the unseen world and what happened at His baptism. It says the heavens parted, but the word used there is actually a violent term, also describing the rocks that split open at the death of Christ and the veil of the temple that was torn from top to bottom. Therefore, when the Bible says the heavens opened, it refers to something that occurred on Heaven’s side, completely tearing open and obliterating the powers of darkness that had shielded humanity from their purpose and destiny. When Jesus came up out of the water, the Spirit of God was released through that which had been torn open. On that day, there was an even greater realization of what had been declared at the beginning of Jesus' life and ministry. It is important for us to take these comments that are sometimes only acknowledged at Christmas time and realize they really describe the normal life of a follower or disciple of Jesus. His introduction into the world came with this decree: glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace and goodwill toward men.
It has always been designed that the reality of that world would affect this one—not just occasionally, not just in a good revival meeting, not just in that act of faith of prayer for a miracle, but as a lifestyle. Glory to God in the highest! That realm of Him being exalted is meant to affect this realm in which we live. «On Earth, peace and goodwill toward men"—the word «peace» is one of the most meaningful words in the Bible because it addresses spirit, soul, and body. It doesn’t merely refer to the absence of noise, conflict, or difficulties; it actually describes the presence of someone. It’s positive; it’s a person. It’s the permeating presence of the Prince of Peace, who loves to crush the powers of darkness under our feet. Therefore, peace resting on us is the assurance, the guarantee that we will trample on the powers of darkness. This is the privilege for believers. The God of the Breakthrough is here.
One of the worst lies the enemy has woven into culture and society is that some situations are truly hopeless. If there has ever been a time that I’ve seen culture itself—whether in elections, ecology, or the economy—it doesn’t matter where you slice it, there are prevailing voices filled with hopelessness. I want to announce to you that in many of those situations, hopelessness is actually a demonic spirit, a power that has attached itself to people’s thought processes, rendering their thinking void of the God who brings breakthrough—the God of the Breakthrough.
One of the worst things that could exist in the heart of a believer, and one that every one of us has dealt with at times, is that sense of hopelessness. We look at situations and lack anticipation that they will turn out well or change. We’ll study some scripture shortly, but before we even explore this subject, I feel we need to pray together. I realize that folks are watching online or on TV, and I trust you’ll do the same thing in your home, small group, or wherever you happen to be gathered. This God of the Breakthrough is here not only to bring hope to hopeless situations but also to change patterns of life that have been filled with hopelessness. For some of you, it seems that no matter what happens in your life, as soon as there’s a breakthrough, a nagging voice follows—a nagging influence. For some, it has shadowed your entire life, and I’m here to announce that this is not normal, and it is going to break today. It’s not normal; it’s not your assignment; it is not your lot in life.
Sometimes, in the name of perseverance, we actually entertain the demonic. Sometimes we entertain things that lead us into unbelief in the name of endurance. We had a guest here a number of years ago who made a statement that really stuck with me: «What you tolerate will dominate.» Sometimes we become accustomed to the small foxes that ruin the vineyard; we get used to small, nagging voices that seem to plunder the hope and courage we were designed to carry. I believe today will see for many people a cycle of returning hopelessness that will be forever broken. I sense an anointing here today to break that cycle.
This God of the Breakthrough, who, when Jesus was baptized in water—an act of violence to save humanity—tore open the heavens, allowed Jesus to go to the crucifixion, and released the power of the Spirit of God so that hope could exist in any situation. We’ll look at the biblical basis for that shortly, but first, I feel like we’re just supposed to pray together. If you can see it in the countenance of your parents or grandparents, that for some reason, this thing has haunted your family line for as long as you can remember, and you would be willing to say, «Bill, I want this to end today,» I want you to stand.
I’m just curious how many of you see that this has followed you for a significant part of your life—raise your hands. For how many of you would you say it’s more of a recent thing? All right, maybe three-quarters have followed one-quarter recent; it doesn’t matter to me how long it’s been there. What matters to me is how much longer it stays—and it ends today. Please don’t stand for prayer if you don’t want it to go because you will be disappointed in what is about to happen. This is the largest Sozo we’ve ever done. I sincerely believe that God will heal situations. Let me talk to you for a moment before we pray.
We are about to pray to the God we have been privileged to call Abba, Father. We are going to pray to the One who has never lied, deceived, or been wrong, and when He thought of this moment, He offered His Son, Jesus, to ensure that you and I would be qualified for hope. Jesus qualified me for hope. He qualified you. The Bible says His arm is not short; in other words, He can reach where you are. He can reach into your situation, and it doesn’t matter if it’s economic, relational, health-related, all of the above, or none at all. For some of you, you can’t pin down what you feel hopeless about, and the horrible thing about that presence of hopelessness is that everything could go right, and it still feels wrong. That will be broken.
The servants of the Lord will join you right now in partnership with Heaven to see this broken. Those of you sitting down, I’m assuming you’re filled with hope. If not, get your act together and get prayer because we’re going to break this. I want you to stand and find someone to pray for. I notice there are some pockets where several of you are together. You may need to pray for each other. If you stood for prayer, put a hand up. If no one has gotten to you, keep it up. If someone’s ready to pray for you, put it down.
Church, look around you; we still have people. That’s right, go down the rows, do whatever you need to do. There’s a gentleman over to my right; I need someone to pray for him here about four or five rows back. There are still four, five, or six in this section to my left. I need some of you to crawl in there and start praying. We’re coming against a power that has planted a lie, and we’re breaking that identity with that lie. Way in the back by the TV camera, to my left, there are three or four more people. I need some of you to get back there even if you have two hands—take on two. There’s still someone right down the center here; I need someone to go right here. Thank you. There’s still one more back here about 10 rows back in this section to my right, your left. Thank you so much, thanks!
Lay hands on them and rebuke the power of hopelessness. Those receiving prayer, I want you to renounce hopelessness; it is a presence that is no longer allowed to follow you. For those watching on TV, we break that power of hopelessness. We declare that presence that has haunted and tormented you is illegal; it is an illegal assignment. Revelations of eternity, revelations of Heaven—let them burst forth in the soul. For those receiving prayer, it’s essential that you yield to the power of this prayer and actually renounce hopelessness; close the door.
I like to declare it: «I renounce hopelessness. I close the door to that power and presence; it is closed now, in Jesus' name.» We pray for this to be broken off family lines, this thing that has just hovered in the background for multiple generations. We declare it ends today; it never was legal. We end it now in the name of the Lord Jesus; it never was legal. Wonderful! Now pray for that release of hope, supernatural hope that comes in the form of presence—the presence of someone, the presence of the Spirit of God.
Wonderful old hymn, let’s sing it together: «All to Jesus I surrender; all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him; in His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all; all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.» Amen, amen, amen! Go and be seated. Beautiful! How many of you give up your right to hopelessness? Give it up.
There’s one of the strangest verses to me in the Bible—it’s from Isaiah 51. Let me read it to you: «I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid?» Let me read that again—some of you just missed it; it’s so good. God starts with Himself: «I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid?» Who do you think you are? This only makes sense when understanding the overwhelming presence of God that covers absolutely every detail of our life.
Turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8; we’ve got a little bit of time left. Let’s do our best to make this meaningful. Romans chapter 8. By the way, I want to strongly encourage you to be baptized in water if you haven’t. Don’t put it off; there’s no good reason—just do it! Romans 6 gives us a beautiful picture of water baptism as portraying the life of the new believer—buried in water, coming up in resurrection power. The revelation of Romans chapter 6 is that we have been born of the Spirit of God, and sin no longer has any right or influence in our life. It has been severed and broken. You were not gradually raised from the dead; you’re either alive or dead, and that resurrection power filled and saturated your being, making you a child of God.
Chapter 7 depicts the wrestling match. Paul says, «What I want to do, I don’t do; what I don’t want to do, I end up doing.» This is not the confession of a believer struggling to walk with the Lord. If this were true, it would contradict everything else the Apostle Paul taught about the power and reality of our conversion. This is the confession of his own life as a young man seeking God but unable to fully walk in what he had in his heart to do for the Lord. It wasn’t until grace came and he was filled with the Spirit—as the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead—that he could fulfill his life’s purpose.
Chapter 8 announces that there is no longer any condemnation, and we now have the privilege to enter into a relationship with the Holy Spirit to discover what a victorious life is all about. The lessons are profound and spread thoroughly throughout this chapter. What I’ll do is read a longer portion than I normally would, stopping from time to time to make comments—let’s see how it goes.
Romans chapter 8, beginning with verse 18: «For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.» Attention, please! The sufferings of this present time are not sickness and disease. There are no points for sickness and disease; Jesus didn’t plan for our sickness any more than He planned for us to continue living in sin. He thoroughly thought through this and made ample provision for breakthrough. Now we are learning how to appropriate and take hold of that breakthrough.
How many of you have been healed? How many of you have experienced a miracle of healing in your body before? Raise your hand. All right, I rest my case. We have wonderful friends from Norway here whose young man was literally dying two years ago, right? Yes, two years ago—and he was healed. We’ve seen the testimony on video; it’s so good to have you here! I can hardly wait to hug your neck. Why don’t those who were healed stand and wave at us so everyone can rejoice by seeing this? This young man came to us in a wheelchair a couple of years ago—could not eat. God did a miracle that is still one of the most glorious things ever.
You know, I could stop right here, and we could party for the rest of the day. This is good news! I get happy every time I think of it. I was recently on Sid Roth’s program, and he asked me to share a great miracle I had witnessed. This particular miracle is one of the greatest I’ve seen—from death to life, it’s pretty hard to beat.
«For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.» If you’re experiencing present-time suffering—opposition, persecution, difficulty, pressure—tell yourself, «This is small compared to the glory that’s about to break loose.» It is not worthy of comparison! It is not worthy to be compared; it doesn’t fit in the same class. It doesn’t mirror what glory mirrors in light; it’s not even worthy of that comparison.
Verse 24: «For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.» Important word there: perseverance. «Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses, for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.» Groanings that cannot be uttered—the Holy Spirit is the great intercessor, and He intercedes for you by name. All prayer is legal; you can complain, it’s legal, only because He’s patient.
All prayer is legal, but the most effective prayer is when we pray with the Holy Spirit. That includes praying in tongues in the Spirit and praying with understanding. There’s praying by the Spirit with understanding that is revelatory in nature. I personally consider anointed prayer to be prophecy; when someone is praying for something to happen, and the Spirit of God is on that prayer, it’s the same as a prophecy: they are declaring what’s about to happen. If you haven’t received prophetic words over your life, pay attention to those anointed prayers.
There’s a third kind of prayer in the Spirit here—it’s the groanings, the deep heartache where you can’t find words to pray; tongues don’t even seem to qualify for what you need. It’s that heartfelt groaning, the travailing of the heart that is anointed Holy Spirit prayer. He translates that groaning into spiritual breakthrough.
Verse 27: «He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.» I love that—according to the will of God! This means I can pray, «Oh God, I want a Lamborghini,» and the Holy Spirit is interceding, saying, «Oh God, he wants a Chevy.»
Verse 28: «And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.» Why is that verse in the Bible? Look at it: «We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose"—because sometimes there is a waiting time between the promise and the fulfillment. What do you do in the waiting time? I think it was Bishop Garlington who said that it’s like the rooms of a house; it’s from glory to glory, but it’s hell in the hallway. This verse accounts for that because God is not a vending machine where you put something in, push a button, and get your answer.
He is a real Father, with whom we walk to discover Kingdom breakthroughs in every aspect of our lives. I am so thankful that some breakthroughs come so quickly—almost before I think them or pray them—they just happen! But there are others that take years. Why? I don’t know, but I don’t need to know. All I need to do is remain faithful to the one who has promised and ensure that I protect my heart of hope, always anticipating good.
I refuse to hold God hostage over one issue in my life. I refuse to allow any issue to say, «Well, if God really is a God of miracles, then this thing will be solved.» I don’t know His process; I know His heart. This cancer is supposed to be gone; I know His heart. This family is supposed to be restored; I know His heart. This business should succeed; I know His heart. I have no problem—I don’t question His heart for any situation.
However, when I hold Him hostage to the answer I expect, I restrict myself from entering into realms of breakthrough over the many other areas of life that I’m actually facing. Sometimes, the Lord wants to create momentum for that thing I hold so dear, allowing breakthroughs through other circumstances, so I have the courage, faith, and wherewithal to persevere in this one thing I would usually hold him hostage to.
That made sense, right? This verse is for the hell in the hallway; it’s there for the breaks between seasons, between breakthroughs. It’s there because we need something to sink our teeth into—something we can feed on in between breakthroughs.
Verse 29: «For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.» Say this with me: «I have been predestined to be like Jesus.» There are no other options; there’s no plan B. You’ve been predestined to be like Jesus. How long it takes is up to you.
You’ve been predestined to be like His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. This is crucial—our hope is anchored in the resurrection of Jesus. Paul teaches elsewhere that if there is no resurrection, we have no hope. Picture this: the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead took up residence in you, in me, when we were born again, when we placed our faith in Christ. We became born again because the exact Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead took up residence in us.
What does that do? Several things: first, it connects us to eternity; our hope is anchored in the eternal future of absolute perfect peace with God forever. That’s what it’s anchored in, and that deposit of the Spirit of God is actually the down payment for our ultimate inheritance. To live without hope is to deny eternity with God.
It’s vital we guard our hearts and do whatever we need to ensure a heart of hope remains alive because that keeps us aware of the eternal promise. I’m forgetting the example—I’m going to give it to you even though I don’t have the names; I’m sure someone will remind me later.
There were two armies coming against each other; one was holed up in a city. An army came against them, announcing their intention to take their city captive, and they said, «No way!» The two kings or heads of the armies met, and the one leading the attack turned to a soldier and said, «Jump!» That soldier jumped off a cliff to his death. The king in the city saw that his enemy had no fear of dying, which caused him to surrender.
It’s a true story! There’s something about having no fear of death. Bob Perry, one of our elders, says, «You can’t threaten me with Heaven.» And listen, it may sound morbid to you, but I don’t mean Heaven as an escape; I mean Heaven as my present tense home. I am living from there towards Earth now. That realization keeps my soul anchored in the joyful anticipation of what is good.
We need an increased revelation of eternity, as it is that reality that keeps us anchored in hope regardless of what goes right or what goes wrong.
Verse 30: «Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He justified.» How many of you are justified? Justified by faith? If you’re born again, you are justified. «And whom He justified, these He glorified.» That’s past tense.
Can you imagine the resurrected Jesus being intimidated by any problem? Can you picture Him looking at a situation in your life and going, «Oh, I didn’t see that coming»? It sounds silly, but we can’t imagine it—why? Because He’s God! You’re in Christ, and according to scripture, you’ve been glorified.
John the Beloved, one of the twelve disciples at the Last Supper, had his head on Jesus' chest. He found out one of them would betray Him. John, the one with a very tender, close relationship with Jesus—who saw Him as He was being betrayed, saw Him at the crucifixion—wrote about Him later in Revelation 1. He described a glorified, resurrected Jesus, saying, «His hair is white like wool, His eyes are flaming fire, and His feet are burnished bronze.» He described something entirely different from the Jesus he knew at the Last Supper—he saw a glorified, resurrected Son of God, and then he wrote these words: «As He is, so are we in this world.»
The hope is not in who I am; the hope is in who He is in me.
Verse 33: «Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?» Excuse me—I didn’t read verses 32 or 31. Wow! «What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?» I just like how that sounds. If God is for you, there is no one who matters that is against you, and anyone who opposes you doesn’t get to vote.
Verse 32: «He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?» Let me read that again: «He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?»
Here’s how you look at it: you’ve got a problem—yes, we all do. Put it in front of you and compare the problem with the extreme lengths to which God went to ensure you’d be okay. The extreme length? He gave His Son! Whatever problem you face, I don’t care how huge it is; it falls deeply under the shadow of His extreme expression of interest, desire, and passion for every detail of our lives.
We have two extremes here: the Spirit of the resurrected Christ who anchors us to eternity, and the extreme of the Father offering His own Son to ensure that you and I have life over every area of life. Everything falls under the influence of that one offering.
It’s the hope of eternity that begins to affect every area of our lives in which we would normally become hopeless. God wants to infect time with eternity. He wants to infect it; He wants to infuse this moment with the reality of His world. It’s not a pipe dream; it’s a reality! Every time someone gets healed, every time someone gets saved, we experience that reality.
Verse 34: «Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore, is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.» I don’t know if you’re getting this, but we have Jesus in verse 34 interceding for us. What does intercede mean? He stands in our shoes, pleading our cause before the Father so that we might receive our breakthrough.
Also, back in verse 26, the Holy Spirit intercedes for me, for you. He stands in our shoes, pleading our cause before the heavenly Father—not as though the Father needed to be persuaded, but because the chain of events must occur; there needs to be a prayer that causes a tipping point. The Holy Spirit and the Son of God together intercede for you and for me. No wonder we have verse 28: «All things work together for good.»
Why? Because we have two-thirds of the Godhead interceding on our behalf—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—pleading your case before the Father. All things, all things, all things—in the midst of the mystery, in the confusion—all delayed answers are merely gaining interest.
It’s true; they’re gaining interest, presence, power, meaning, and fulfillment. Faith brings answers, but enduring faith brings answers with character. Those combined is what He is forming in us. Why? Because He already told us, «I have predestined you to be like my Son Jesus.»
Jesus illustrated what perseverance looked like. He illustrated what it meant to hold course amidst applause or opposition. He illustrated the life of both suffering and triumph; that is the normal Christian life.
There is not one part of our lives worthy of hopelessness. Like He said, «I am the God who comforts.» Who do you think you are? Not to believe. Who do you think you are to be afraid? I gave you My Son. You’re tasting eternity! Who do you think you are to live without hope?
Let’s be honest—look around you. Don’t look too long or you might get depressed, but look around you at the circumstances occurring politically, economically, or ecologically. The enemy has succeeded in raising voices that represent hopelessness. It is hard to find a voice of hope. I’m not saying they don’t exist; I’m just saying that hopelessness is so prevalent.
It has become politically correct to be hopeless. It’s called discernment; it is called many things, but it is not right. It’s not Kingdom! Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace and goodwill toward men—that is the will of God.
Peace—the prevailing substance of Heaven’s atmosphere—touches spirit, soul, and body. It absolutely engulfs an individual’s life, taming every bit of opposition surrounding them. It’s the Prince of Peace who crushes the powers of darkness under our feet. Why? Because we become permeated with peace. Peace isn’t just the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of someone.
I’m not here to announce the enemy’s victory; I’m here to announce his defeat because he has already been defeated! We do not approach the Lord as if He operates on a Russian roulette principle, where maybe you might get a breakthrough occasionally if you spin things just right.
Everyone in this room knows that this week, we’re having an extraordinary time with Steve Thompson. Dr. James Maloney is witnessing extraordinary miracles in this century! I mean, I could share things you might not believe if I told you about the things happening. We know that when someone steps into the building with that kind of an anointing and faith, there is an answer available.
What I want you to know is that the same anointing is with you. I’m thankful God sends us generals from His army, but that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.
The very thing that sometimes keeps us from breakthrough is our marriage to hopelessness, and it ends today. It ends today! I want you to stand if you would. I don’t know how this works; I had a problem in high school with my knee. I got my knee dislocated a few times. It’s strange when something becomes dislocated; it feels there’s a path for it to go out again easily, which is probably why it swells.
I don’t know enough about the human body, but I’m telling you the truth. I think that’s why it swells—to hold tight and keep things safe. It’s so easy for it to go back out. I feel like today, many hearts have been put back into place, and I want to encourage you—guard that heart.
When I moved to Weaverville, I took a little plant with me—this plant in my office here in Redding. It was just one of those plants that stuck straight up in the air; it had a few leaves and added a sense of life to my office. I had no green thumbs—nothing green—yet this plant liked me.
One day while praying in my office, the Lord spoke clearly: «Do you see that plant?» I looked at it, and He said, «That’s you.» Within two weeks, all the leaves fell off. Seriously, all the leaves were gone, and there was merely a stick sticking straight up out of the ground. I didn’t want to throw it away because that was me! I thought, «Oh, no—what’s happened to me?»
There was a season where I felt stripped. Honestly, that stick turned brown and died. Right next to it, another stem sprouted up out of the ground. I thought, «Oh, I’m alive!» But this new stem wasn’t straight; it twisted and grew down over the side—it was all distorted. I thought, «That’s me too! Why is that me?» But it was alive, and I was happy it was alive.
Eventually, this plant grew for 18 years. I watched it go through different seasons. Finally, I thought I should transplant it, as it had been in the same pot for 18 years—it might be rootbound! I lifted it out of the pot to place it into another. The smell of years of that plant marinating in coffee wafted up because that’s all I ever watered it with!
I didn’t water it with plain water; I used coffee. If my coffee got cold, I poured it into the plant. If I was gone for four or five days, it never got watered. When I came back, if I ran out of coffee, it would stay dry for too long. It learned to thrive on coffee!
When I transplanted it to my reading office, it bloomed flowers! Some of you might be rootbound in your ways of thinking, but the life of hope is about to flourish as He gives you a different context from which to think. There are things in you that you never thought were there.
I had no clue this plant could produce flowers! I was shocked—"That’s me too!» I endured the stick; now I get flowers! Awesome! I don’t know what it means, but it’s better than a stick! So, Father, I pray for the real sense of revelation of hope, revelation of eternity.
Let the revelation say, «If you gave us Your Son, how much more will You not fully cover every other issue of life?» Out of thankfulness, we acknowledge the payment has been made in full, and we give You thanks and praise in Jesus' name.