Bill Johnson - Refine Your Focus on What Is Most Important
All I know is that the power fell on one, and Benny and I looked at each other and said, «It is now unstoppable.» See, if you’re not all in, you miss the subtle signs of God’s working because He doesn’t always come and show Himself boldly and strongly. Sometimes, it’s in an infant that everyone else in the city didn’t see, but these two looked and saw the salvation of Israel. Here’s what I want to do: I want to talk to you about one of my favorite parts of the Christmas story. This has actually been on my mind for a couple of weeks, and sometimes I don’t have that kind of clarity or direction very far in advance, but this has really been in my heart and on my mind for weeks. I’m going to talk to you about a part of the story in the Gospel of Luke; we will be reading from Luke Chapter 2. I want to speak about Anna and Simeon, who are sometimes unsung heroes of this incredible Christmas story. There’s something about their story that really rocks my world. I don’t talk about it often, but you know how we all have a history with God in the Word? There are certain things that God has shown you in stories and examples, teachings, whatever they are; they’re kind of like true north. They are a reference point that you use to measure your own response to your life. Sometimes we sanitize the story because it’s in Scripture, and we rob ourselves of the wonder and the adventure of what it would have been like to be in their shoes, to be in the shoes of Anna and Simeon. We will go over the story in just a moment, but I need to set the stage; I need to create a context, and it might sound a little strange, but hopefully by the time I’m through, it will make sense—and if it doesn’t, it’s still the Bible, and it’s good.
Here’s what I want to do: I want to read from the Gospel of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount. I want to read from the sixth chapter. This is a verse that I actually reference a couple of times a year— and have for quite a while—because it rocked me so deeply when I saw what the Lord was saying. The context in the Sermon on the Mount has to do with our response to money. Let me make this statement: fear, worry, and anxiety— that whole theme of emotions— is released in our lives to distract us from our purpose and eventually re-establish our affection on something inferior. Fear, anxiety, and worry—all those things are the enemy’s attempt to distract me, and then once I’m distracted, to re-engage my affection on something inferior. But so is greed and lust; it’s the other side of the same problem. Jesus deals with the whole issue of lust and greed heavily in the Sermon on the Mount. In this portion, He talks about where your treasure is; there your heart will be also. He’s not speaking against money; He’s talking about the heart—about the focus of our heart.
Fear is as wrong as greed, and greed is as wrong as fear. The reason is that both are attempts to distract or pull my focus away from the one thing I am called to. If the enemy can’t get me to compromise my values in a raw, immoral way, he’ll at least try to add to my moral conviction too many issues in life so that I spread myself so thin that I’m ineffective. His desire is to pull me into defending my position outside of the spirit of Christ. Wow, abortion is wrong. It’s just as wrong as the sacrificing of children to Molech in the Old Testament. There’s nothing about it that’s right. The enemy cannot get me off that bandwagon, so what does he try to do? He tries to get me to operate in selfishness, carnality, accusation, bitterness, and all those other things to defend my position on abortion. Does that make sense to you? In other words, he can’t get me to compromise my values, so what he tries to do is to get me to overextend my values to where I operate outside the spirit of Christ.
These issues of distraction are huge, and right now we have more distractions than we’ve ever had in our lives. Let me just tell you, I’m in the middle; I feel the distraction. I’m not just talking about the obvious things— the political stuff, the racial issues, the economic concerns. We can make a big list. I’m talking about the nature of our culture, our country, where we are inundated with the opinions of other people. Oh goodness, I’m going to jump into a deep hole that I can’t climb out of, and I don’t want to do that. I actually like social media; I do. I like the fact that I can go on Instagram, look up fly-fishing pictures, and find them. It’s like the magazines I used to buy. I can look up deer hunting, fountain pens, hot sauce; they’re all in here. I look at them, and I have a good time. I say, «Oh, that hot sauce looks good,» and I will order it in just a heartbeat. I love that. This is just Christian recreation to me. But here’s the problem: we are often measured by likes. We are creating a system where we look for the approval of other people to make our decisions. It’s subtle, but it’s there, and we have a generation that’s being weaned on that value system.
I don’t want to go there anymore; I’m done with social media talk for this morning. Actually, it could creep up again, but I’ll try not to. All right, let’s get to Scripture here because I want to talk about this. I’m going to take one verse and just try to emphasize that it’s in the context of money. The principle often times Jesus reveals is applicable across the board. What I just said was very important and true. All right, verse 22 of Matthew Chapter 6: «The lamp of the body is the eye. If, therefore, your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.» The lamp of the body is the eye. If, therefore, your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. This deserves much more attention than I am going to give here because I actually want to take you into the Christmas story and show you something that I hope will encourage you and add fuel to what God has called us to be and to do.
But look at this again; one of the translations says, «if your eye is single.» Another one says, «if your eye is clean.» The word here for good is actually two words: it’s a word meaning «one» and then it’s a word that means «voyage.» «Alpha» would be Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, number one and the eternal future. That’s the Lord. So here’s what I want you to look at: this is a very interesting word. It says, «If your eye is good.» Let’s break it down this way: the first word is «single» or «one,» and the second word is «voyage.» If your eye is set on one voyage, the one thing, your entire body will be full of light. This is important; we don’t have time for it now, but I think there’s something in this verse that connects us to divine health. I think being diversified outside of where God has called us actually affects us emotionally. It affects us in areas of greed and lust; it affects us in areas of fear and anxiety, and all those things war against the affections of the soul that are supposed to be anchored in the Lord Himself. All these things compete for our focus and our devotion to the one thing. They are subtle, but the end result is a people who, over time, diversify their affection from the Lord to many other things—even if it’s in Jesus' name.
If the lamp of the body is the eye, if, therefore, your eye is set on one voyage, this one thing I have desired, the Scripture says— to see Him, to be in His temple forever, to be one who glorifies Him. This one thing I have desired— the song of the redeemed is this one thing I have desired. It’s critical to fuel that one fire in my soul so much so that nothing else matters. Everything else is attended to through that one theme. I don’t have a confusing life of serving God and serving my family, serving the city, and serving you. I have one thing— Him. In that affection and adoration, an absolute passion for Him, I become more fully equipped as a spouse, as a grandparent, as a pastor—whatever other labels we share. The point is, it is the one thing.
One of my heroes in Scripture is Solomon, and I’m moved by the fact that we studied this some years ago. Here, as a young man, he becomes king, and he goes to bed at night. He sleeps and has this dream. Now, dreams are extremely subjective; I’ve had people who were opposed to the revival have dreams. I believe they had a dream, but our dreams are often shaped by our own values. We sow into our dream life. What happened with Solomon is that he was so overwhelmingly aware of his need for God that’s how he went to bed. He says in the Song of Solomon, «Though I sleep, yet my heart is awake.» In other words, he would come to a place where he would rest, but it would be before the Lord, and he had this ongoing passion. I don’t know what I’m doing; I’m reading into the story, but I believe I have reason to. I don’t know what I’m doing; I need God’s input to be a successful and godly king. He goes to sleep, and God appears to him in a dream and has a dialogue. This is profound to me: God talks with Solomon while Solomon is sleeping, and Solomon responds in such a way that God trusts him to make a decision. He says, «What’s the one thing you want?» He says, «More than anything, I want wisdom. I want to be able to lead Your people well.» God says, «Because you asked for that and not long life, fame, money, and all these other things, you get it all.» What’s the point? The point is that in his sleep, his agendas were set aside so much that he could trust the dream he had, and God could trust him to make a godly decision. He made a decision that shaped the course of history in his sleep—his sleep—that’s being focused—not anxiously focused.
Now go to Luke Chapter 2. Luke Chapter 2, verse 25 is where we’ll start. We’re going to read quite a few verses, so please have your Bibles in front of you and follow along. Verse 25: «Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.» So he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: «Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel.» This is an extraordinary prayer he is praying in the temple because he’s prophesying in his prayer that this infant, this child, will bring hope, restore Israel, and bring light and salvation to the Gentiles. «Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against.'»
It’s not the first sign to be spoken against; just because you experience a miracle, and people criticize you for it, doesn’t mean you’re not biblical. You’re actually right in the middle of Scripture. Sometimes you experience something that God does, and the critics mount against you; welcome to the family of God. Let me read that again just in case you missed it. «And it will be for a sign which will be spoken against; yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.» Then there’s one more; we’ll do three more verses. «Now there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was of great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. This woman was a widow of about 84 years.» Now some say she was 84 years at this point; others say this indicates she was a widow for 84 years after marriage, which would make her over 100 years old. She did not depart from the temple but served God with fastings and prayer night and day. Coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all who looked for the redemption of Israel.
Here’s the deal: I want to talk to you about Simeon and Anna. I think—I mean I can’t prove this; it’s just my opinion—but I think they are two of the most honored people in heaven. They lived in a time without the prophets, without the thundering displays of God’s power, and yet they lived for one thing. Anna says she never left the temple. I don’t know if people brought food to her; I don’t know how that works, but the point is she was extremely devoted to one thing, which was that Israel would have a Redeemer, that Israel would have vindication and restoration, that salvation would come to her people. She lived for that one thing. She got married, was married for seven years, and when her husband died, she spent the rest of her life serving God at the temple with fastings and prayer. Simeon, his entire life— he was a friend of God. The Bible says the Holy Spirit was upon him. They weren’t born again yet, so the Holy Spirit didn’t live inside him but rested upon him. He was a prophet, and he could see and hear the word of the Lord. He had the promise that he would see the consolation of Israel—he would see the Redeemer, the Vindicator, the Deliverer.
The point that I have in this message today is really only one thing: the more focused you are on why you’re alive, the less it takes to encourage you. The more focused, the more all in for one thing, the less it takes to encourage you. I read a very interesting article some years ago; I didn’t want to talk about it only because I hate war so much. But I read this very interesting article, and I believe it was by a sniper in the military, and they are an unusual breed of people. I don’t know how many of you have ever read about them, and if I can just put aside the moral issues of war and all, I’m just glad I’m not a national leader that has to make that decision. But I admired so much what this gentleman wrote. Picture this: a sniper with all this plant life and everything hooked to his body. There are times they will actually take several days to crawl from here to there because none of their movements can be noticed. They do everything physically in their clothing, and at times they are on an anthill, being bitten by these ants, and they are so focused on their assignment that they show no pain and make no noticeable movement. What the guy said is, «In this place, you are so focused that you notice when a blade of grass is different.»
There’s something about focus, about purpose, about refining what is going to excite me, refining what I’m going to feed my soul on, refining my understanding, my conscious awareness of why I am on this planet. I get to be a grandpa; I get to be a dad; I love being a husband. All these things I get to do, but all of these are expressions of why I’m alive. I am alive to represent Jesus and bring Him glory. I live for that. Anything that doesn’t fit into that assignment may be good, may be moral, may be upright, but it’s there to divert attention and eventually draw away my affection. You see, the anointing is actually released through affection. When we diversify all the things—keeping 20 plates spinning on a stick, that picture of the complicated Christian life—I believe in being involved in a lot of stuff, but it all has to fit under one thing: one thing. How is it you can be so focused as a man? Picture yourself as a guy who intercedes, who prays for the nation of Israel, who prays for the nations of the world, who prays for the Messiah to come. And one day, in your prayer, the Lord shows up and says, «Before you die, you will see this great Deliverer. Before you die, you will see the mighty one who comes to save.»
Why is he alive? The one thing. And it says the Spirit of the Lord moved him, directing him to go to the temple. He went to the temple and saw an infant. He saw an infant; he didn’t see a mighty Deliverer. He didn’t see a man with a sword; he didn’t see a man with an army; he didn’t see someone with great pedigree and wealth. He saw an infant, a baby. Yes, eternally God, but he saw in the baby the deliverance of Israel and the salvation of gentiles. He saw it in the baby. See, when you live for one thing, it doesn’t take a lot to encourage you because you notice the movement of that blade of grass. You notice the slight little indication— oh, that neighbor I’ve been talking to has warmed up just a little bit today. I didn’t get the raise yet, but I can tell something is happening because there’s more business at work. It’s just the little things; it’s the fact that we live for one thing. And when you do, you’re constantly filled with encouragement because God is doing all kinds of great things; He’s bringing all kinds of babies, seeds of the things you’ve been praying for.
I look at Anna and Simeon, and they both move me so much because they recognized the King of Glory was there in an infant that couldn’t do a thing—couldn’t do anything. They saw. This is what we need right now because we’re in the middle of swirling chaos. We need people to just dial down, to ask, «Why am I alive? Why am I where I am in this season? Why am I here?» And we lean into the one thing, and all of a sudden we get this little word of encouragement. We see this testimony over here; we see things happening around us that are just indicators of a much bigger deliverance, a much bigger thing that God is doing. And right now, we need encouragement in our lives more than any other season in our lives; it’s foolish to live within reach of a feast of encouragement and not apprehend it, not take hold of it. It’s foolish to be this far away from the ultimate internal strength of faith, focus, and living with Divine purpose, and to not take hold of it.
I’d like to suggest that the Lord is releasing an Anna and Simeon anointing. It’s the Matthew 6 anointing; it’s the eye that has settled on one journey. The reason my whole body is full of light, the reason my entire life is under the visible manifestation of the glory of God is because I have determined I am alive for one thing. I’m alive for one reason, and that one reason God has illuminated everything in my life. I think often of Elijah and his deal when he was praying for rain. It’s interesting because he prophesied the drought. Sometimes you can cause something by the hand of the Lord on you that’s supposed to come to an end, and he knew it; but he also knew there was some sort of intercessory role that he had. He just didn’t assume it would happen; it’s irresponsible not to take responsibility.
There are moments where it’s upon us to know God is about to do something, but I have to take my place before Him. You know, if there was ever an example of that, it would have to be with the coming of the Messiah. Let’s be honest: if there’s anything God can pull off on His own without any of our assistance, it’s the fact that Jesus would come to Earth. Yet, it was the Spirit of God upon Anna and Simeon that stirred them to intercessory prayers. Why? He wanted them to be a part of the process. What’s happening today? We scrub these stories so clean that we lose the wonder of the moment, the mystery of the moment. We sanitize these things, and yet they’re living day after day after day. Anna, for 60 years, cries prayers, intercessions, fasting, asking how long she needs to fast, and then one day was the day— she saw the Christ child.
Elijah prophesied the drought, and it was time for the drought to end. He knew it, but he didn’t just assume it would happen; he prayed for it to happen. He sent his servant while he put his head between his knees, and he just interceded. He prayed. Sometimes powerful prayer is not pretty. There’s nothing appealing about it; sometimes the groanings, the weepings, the declarations— the snotty nose— it’s just not pretty. Those things aren’t to be flaunted as some sign; they just happen when you’re gripped in your soul for something that’s got to be birthed into the earth that is not yet here. It must be; it must be! It’s not for show, it’s not for anything, but the friend of God is making history with God, and that was Elijah. He’s there, with his head between his knees, praying. He doesn’t want to look. He tells the servant, «What’s the sky like?» He’s praying for rain; he says, «There are no clouds.» He says, «All right, keep praying.» Sometimes you just don’t want to look at the absence of an answer; it’ll affect your praying.
Many people measure the lack of an answer, the lack of breakthrough. «I’ve prayed a hundred times for this; this has never happened.» Stop it! Stop measuring your prayer life by what hasn’t happened. Stop it! He wouldn’t even look himself; it’s what’s it like now? Six times in a row—on the seventh time—he says, «Well, there’s a cloud, but it’s the size of a man’s hand.» Elijah says, «Let’s run, it’s about to rain!» That’s the moment where Anna and Simeon saw the cloud the size of a man’s hand; they saw the seed of God in a child that was about to shape and change the course of world history. «Run! It’s time to take cover!»
I’ve told you the story before; I think when Benny and I first came here, this part of the stage was just stairs. One of the first Sunday nights, we invited everyone to the front, so hundreds of people were all along the front. Benny and I stood right about the third step or so, right here, and we just talked and encouraged everybody for what we believed God was doing and about to do. We invited the Holy Spirit to come; that simple prayer, and the Holy Spirit came. He came in power—He fell powerfully on one person, right here, right in front of us! I don’t know what everyone was thinking; they may have been amused, or they may have been touched by God in a more subtle way. I don’t know; I didn’t ask! But all I know is that the power fell on one, and Benny and I looked at each other and said, «We’ve got it; it is now unstoppable!»
It is now unstoppable! See, if you’re not all in, you miss the seeds; you miss the subtle signs of God’s working because He doesn’t always just show Himself boldly and strongly. Sometimes, it’s in an infant that everybody else in the city didn’t see. But these two, they looked and saw the salvation of Israel. They saw it in seed form because they’re all in. The best way to be encouraged is to be all in—all in—because then you’ll see, you’ll hear the subtle anointing of God on the lyrics of a song as you walk into a restaurant, the subtle storyline behind a TV show that you realize there’s something prophetic in that storyline.
It’s just when you’re leaning in, when you’re all in. I don’t mean you interpret every number and every thing that happens. It just means God speaks—why? Because He has a listener, He has somebody who’s all in. He’s got somebody who has one reason for being alive. The single voyage, therefore, everything about them will be under the influence of the light of God. The generation period is soon coming to an end—a conclusion; there will be a birthing of something very powerful and very new in the earth, but specifically in you and in me. I believe the Lord is wooing us into the one thing—simplifying the one thing. God, forgive me everywhere I’ve been distracted. I’ve allowed—I’ve voluntarily submitted myself to distractions that have warred over my heart, that have distracted my affections, values, and attention. Heal us as a people, God! Heal us as a people that come out of this season simplified, refined, focused, and madly in love.
I ask that in Jesus' name. I sense that there are some— I felt it earlier this morning— that there’s somebody who has issues in the actual bones. There’s some sort of a bone disease, and I rebuke that disease and declare the life of Christ, the light of God, over your whole body to restore what the enemy has stolen in the actual structure and health of your bones, the blood supply. I believe the Lord is healing people who have had various kinds of infections and diseases in the blood. So, Lord, we just pray for the healing grace of Jesus to be released over every single person that watches this celebration.
I want to encourage you, if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, talk with somebody in the chat line if you’re on Bethel TV or YouTube, or one of the other platforms. If you need prayer for something, talk with someone in the chat line. Just say, «Listen, I need a miracle in my body.» He identified something I have or maybe He didn’t identify what I have, but I really still need a miracle. Have someone just pray with you, and we’ll agree with you for massive breakthrough. All right, and finally, Merry Christmas! I pray that this would be simply the most joyful season of your life. I think it was C.S. Lewis who wrote a book called «Surprised by Joy,» so I pray that you are surprised by joy. Merry Christmas! Love you, love you, love you so much.