Bill Johnson - The Principled Presence
Solomon became a man of extraordinary principles. David, his father, was a man of the presence. Solomon was supposed to become the man of principled presence, but he became the man of principle. What I want to do today is start with an interesting verse from Psalms 25, and then we’ll go to First Kings 3. You can pick a verse; pick a verse, any verse, and go there, and we’ll get reading. To start, I need to provide context for those who are guests. I want to set the groundwork for our study today.
First, for our guests, I am doing a study on the life of Solomon and the prophetic example he became, in order that we might have a template for how to enact change as architects of culture that transform cities and nations. Solomon lived in a very unique way, and his insights and wisdom provide us with the inspiration and understanding necessary to shift and transform culture and society. That is a significant undertaking for us. Jesus had cities in mind; he had nations in mind. Personally, I feel one of the greatest embarrassments to the Gospel would be for you and me to hope Jesus comes back today, as it leaves so many people outside of his plan. We must be people who live with the conviction that he has answers for every problem and every dilemma. Jesus is not returning on a rescue mission; he is coming back in a victorious way to celebrate the glorious, victorious bride. This is a huge part of what fuels us here. I have felt, for maybe close to ten years (I know at least five), that there is something in the life of Solomon, particularly in his words of wisdom, that would provide us with insight and a template, so to speak, for the shift and transformation of culture and society.
So, that sets the context for what we are doing today. I want to discuss some of the differences between David and Solomon, and specifically, what David wrote in this Psalm, Psalms 25. It’s a concept I don’t want to teach on the psalm itself; I want to unpack what’s behind the statement. I’ll elaborate on that for a moment, and then we’ll get right into the life of Solomon.
So, in Psalms 25, we’ll read just one verse—actually, we’ll read two verses: verse 12. «Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way he chooses; he himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.» The New American Standard emphasizes something that my translation doesn’t, which I really like. It says, «his soul will dwell in prosperity; his descendants will inherit the land.» The point is important to catch: whenever you get a breakthrough, your descendants experience a greater breakthrough. It starts by describing when your soul is captured by the fear of the Lord, your internal world begins to take on divine structure—prosperity and abundance.
What does it look like to have a prosperous soul? This was addressed in 3 John, verse 2: «I pray that you may be in health and prosper even as your soul prospers.» The target, the aim of the Gospel, is to heal people on the inside. Jen’s word this morning was perfect during prayer time—healing people on the inside. So picture this: he says those who fear the Lord experience something profound in their internal world where healing occurs. It becomes so significant that it prepares the next generation to be able to steward a vast inheritance of land. Does that make sense to you? One generation experiences a breakthrough; the next generation does not have to face those challenges, as they were raised in an environment of a prosperous soul. Now, they can be entrusted with the inheritance of land. Does that make sense?
The point being, in starting here, it’s an unusual place to begin, but I want you to see cause and effect. I want you to see that what one generation experiences, the next generation is supposed to inherit that and more. It was never supposed to remain the same. Even Jesus approached this concept by saying, «And greater works than these shall you do.» He was setting a generation up to experience more than the breakthroughs he had witnessed and walked in. I believe that is the heart of God.
David was indeed one of the most unusual characters in the Bible. One reason is that he was a man—if I can use the term—a violent warrior, an aggressive man of war who fought to apprehend all the promises of God for Israel and all the lands that had been promised to Israel during the time of Moses. David fought to obtain them; he wanted God’s people to have their inheritance. On the other side of the coin, this same man, David, was a passionate, intimate lover of God. It’s bizarre; we usually don’t think in terms of the masculine warrior alongside this musician, this romantic lover of God. But David was that; he was the perfect combination of passion for God and the absolute abandonment of a warrior to bring forth everything for Israel that they were to inherit.
So, if you think about the concept of inheritance, one victory sets the stage for the next generation to have a bigger victory. Think in terms of David and Solomon. David was allowed to build a temporary structure, while Solomon was allowed to build a permanent structure. David built a place. The Bible gives us no description of the tabernacle, which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Let’s just imagine this little pulpit here symbolizing the ark. The ark was the place where the glory of God literally manifested physically for the nation of Israel—a cloud by day, fire by night—that was the presence. It’s bizarre to me that surrounding nations would look down in the valley and see a bunch of people camping and then bear witness to the fire and cloud of God right among them.
Now, here’s the Ark of the Covenant. David caught this dream. I should probably give you some context about the setting David lived in. No priests or those serving in priestly ministry could actually approach the glory of his presence. This Ark of the Covenant was only for the high priest on the Day of Atonement, one day a year. They would come and offer a blood sacrifice—not to deal with sin, but to postpone the penalty of sin, because only the blood of Jesus can deal with it. David comes along and says, «Man, listen, I’ve been discovering that God’s heart is different; he doesn’t want the blood of bulls and goats. He wants sacrifices of yielded hearts; he wants a broken spirit and a contrite heart. From that comes songs, praises, and worship.»
David comes along and proposes a whole new plan. The bizarre thing, which we’ve discussed at other times, is that what David devised violated the law under which he lived. It was as if God allowed David to glimpse a New Testament reality, and he pursued it, seeing a day when every follower of Jesus would be called a priest of the Most High God, a minister unto God and to people. David saw this hundreds of years before it was technically possible because it is not possible until the blood of Jesus qualifies a person for that kind of ministry.
So, God allows David to experience and brings back into an Old Testament context something that will be fully realized in the New Testament: every believer is a minister—the priests of the Most High. David builds this tabernacle. We have no description of its size. All we know is that the Ark of the Covenant was there, and the priests of the Lord would come in shifts to minister to God, 24 hours a day. This continued for at least 30 years; I think it was perhaps closer to 40. Can you imagine the well of revival that needs to be reignited? The glory of God openly manifested for a nation, where priests did not carry blood anymore in that season, because it became a prophetic template again for a New Testament people called a new creation—a people born of the Spirit of God as priests of the Most High. That’s you; that’s me.
David seized this vision and brought it into an Old Testament concept, yielding profound effects. After Solomon came and built the temple—and we’ll talk about the differences shortly—there was a significant decline due to Solomon’s blunders, which we will explore. Eventually, Amos comes along and prophesies that in the last days— and we are living in the last days—God would rebuild the Tabernacle of David. He defines what this will look like, stating he will recreate the environment where people can constantly be in the presence and minister to Him. He will recreate that in the last days, and then he says the house of Edom, or the unbelievers, will find and seek the Lord. What is the point? The prophecy signifies that this worship is going to draw in the harvest of the nations, and you’ll know that this is what God is doing when the nations begin to come to Christ.
I’m sorry; I’m trying to get through this quickly in order to provide context for what we need to cover. So, Amos comes with his prophecy and declares that the Tabernacle will be rebuilt. In Acts 15, many years later—between 10 and 15 years after the Day of Pentecost— a Jerusalem council convenes. The apostolic leaders gather to discuss what to do with all the Gentiles getting saved who don’t even know the law, who don’t know what they are supposed to do. They meet together to figure out what from the Old Testament made it through the cross that these Gentile believers need to know about.
This is a good question because wisdom allows us to determine what made it through the cross. Davidic worship made it through. The Sabbath rested on the seventh day. In the New Testament, it is every day. What has changed? Animal sacrifices ended at the cross. It is wise to recognize these differences.
So, the apostles at the Jerusalem council gather to discuss the Gentiles getting saved. James mentions that Amos said in the last days he would rebuild the Tabernacle of David. He points out that this is the very time the Old Testament prophet spoke about—a shift in the condition of the people of God and their focus in ministry. So what was the shift? The shift was from obeying God through external service to becoming a presence-oriented culture.
This is the heart and soul of the apostolic mandate given to us in the Lord’s Prayer: «Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.» What is the number one greatest reality in heaven? It is the presence of God. Everything is literally permeated, saturated, and inundated with the glory of His presence. Everything is connected; it is the reference point. Everything is tethered to the value of the presence of God. God is so present everywhere that there aren’t even shadows in heaven; he shines everywhere at once, making everything bright.
Here is this glory throughout heaven that somehow has to affect how we live our lives on Earth. I don’t think it does you any good to talk to your boss, your neighbor, or some other business leader about their need to value the presence. I think our message is to become a people of the presence so that when they are in our company, they will say, «Something is different when you walk into the room,» or «Why is it I feel safe around you, but not around these others? Why is there such a peace in your home? What is going on?»
That, I believe, is the impact of being a presence-oriented culture. From there, it exponentially increases to where shadows heal, etc. But for now, let’s just keep it at its most basic form. David was a presence-oriented man.
Go with me to First Kings chapter 3. As we’ll read in a few moments, Solomon had certain experiences with God that I think are unparalleled. Some things he experienced may have been matched by a few others in history, but I don’t know of anyone else who had as much exposure to the glory and presence of God as Solomon did. It can be debated, but it’s just my opinion. I believe the Lord set Solomon up for something extraordinary. If you remember the inheritance concept, internal victory allows the next generation to inherit. In other words, it is increased. I believe God planned for David’s legacy and for Solomon to inherit a presence-oriented culture from his father, one that would permeate all of life and literally see the only time in human history where heaven touched earth in a city structure.
Several weeks ago, I spoke about this passage in First Kings 5:4, where Solomon writes and says, «We don’t even have an adversary.» How many of you were here for that? We don’t have an adversary! That word «adversary» refers to Satan. This tells me that wisdom is so profound in its effect that the enemy loses any ground to hold onto. However, there was a phrase I didn’t develop. Somebody sent me a letter and did a word study that really impacted me, so whoever sent that bless you. This verse states, «We have no adversary nor do we have evil occurrences.» That word «evil occurrences» can also be translated as «nothing would happen because of fatherlessness.»
When you think about the ills of society we face as a nation, they are exacerbated by the pain and trauma of fatherlessness. Solomon is saying, «Listen, we lived in such perfect harmony that we had no adverse effects, no fatherlessness—not even a devil!» He describes, in an Old Testament context, a culture where heaven meets earth.
If anything should motivate us to become a convinced and convicted populace concerning what God intends to do—meanwhile, I don’t mean performance or human perfection—but to give Him a place where His presence dwells and permeates culture so much that hearts are arrested and moved toward Him. We can learn to live in cities that love God well, and I believe that truly is the heart of the Lord.
Let’s go back to First Kings chapter 3. Are you there? Yes? Good! Verse 3 states, «Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.» He loved the Lord like his dad, but he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. This is a critical starting point in Solomon’s story, and let me describe why.
Solomon sacrificed and burned incense on high places, which are logical locations to reach God more easily. All the surrounding nations did this for their false gods, and Solomon did this for the one true God. The problem, though, is that sacrificing on high places is something God explicitly said not to do, so it’s not a good idea. This practice represents self-will that affects worship and is inscribed in the foundation stones. You know that a slightly tilted foundation won’t make a big difference now, but the taller your building becomes, the more disastrous that small shift in the foundation will be.
What you see in Solomon’s life starts with a slightly off-kilter foundation. God shows up to him twice, openly and visibly, so he can see this glory that also appeared during the temple dedication, which we’ll look at later. I believe these encounters with God were given to Solomon to help him adjust that foundation, so it would be solid enough to build something extraordinary on. Instead, something happened in Solomon’s heart where it seemed to fuel an independence, feeding into self-will in worship.
Self-will may not appear nasty initially, but the higher you build that structure, the greater and more destructive it becomes. The issue of worship, when David said God isn’t interested in blood sacrifices, is predicated on recognizing God’s value at a place of brokenness—not because we see ourselves as terrible but in contrast to the one who is overwhelmingly perfect. We yield everything breathlessly to exalt and honor Him. He never gives us humiliation; He always elevates us into our destinies. Without that reality, we can get off track—especially you! Just kidding; it was a joke. Let’s move on.
Now go to chapter 8. The dedication of the temple is one of my favorite sets of verses. Chronicles recounts the same event and has better detail, but we’ll read this one anyway.
Verse 1: «Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they might bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.» They were taking the ark from the temporary structure to the multi-billion-dollar facility Solomon had built for the presence. The priests were going to carry this Ark of the Covenant because, as you recall, the presence does not rest on ox carts—it rests on the shoulders of the people He created. You and I were always designed, in the fear of the Lord, to carry the presence. That’s part of our design.
So they brought up the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle of Meeting, and the holy furnishings that were in the Tabernacle. The priests and Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel assembled before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered due to their multitude.
Listen: if you can be in the presence of God and not give an offering, you may not recognize that you are in the presence of God. I’m not just speaking about money; I mean a response is an automatic inference. If you picture Isaiah 6, Isaiah says, «I see the Lord; he’s high and exalted, and his train fills the temple.» Then God says, «Who am I going to send?» What does Isaiah do? He says, «Send me.» Why? When you see the presence, you become a living offering; it’s an automatic response. If you don’t see the glory and become an offering, then I question what you are seeing.
Verse 6 says, «The priest brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to its place into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place under the wings of the cherubim.» Jump down to verse 10: «It came to pass when the priests came out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.»
This is a passion! The chronicle passage is more of a favorite because it says when the 120 trumpets blew and the people lifted up their shout to the Lord, then the glory came and filled the house. Nobody stood up to say, «I sense the Lord’s presence; let’s all kneel before Him.» It wasn’t that polite; it was everyone on their faces trembling before the presence of the Lord.
So now, Solomon has led this dedication of the house, and God responds. God loves Solomon. Now, he ended poorly, but he didn’t begin that way; he started brilliantly. Yes, it ends up badly, but at this moment, things are going well, and the glory has shown up in overwhelming ways.
Here’s what I want you to see: all of this sets the prophetic pattern for a transformational culture. If the presence of God does not become a practical influence in our personal lives, in our families, or our corporate gatherings, we have no business using that template to change a city.
We need to learn how to recognize. I don’t mean measuring in terms of quality or quantity, but recognizing and attributing what is happening in a way where there are tangible results because He has shown up. I truly believe, with all my heart, that this is the essence of a transformational culture.
Here’s the problem: Solomon became a man of extraordinary principles. David, his father, was a man of the presence. Solomon was meant to become the man of principled presence, but he became the man of principle. Why is this dangerous? Paul tells us later in Corinthians that knowledge puffs up. Knowledge automatically brings arrogance into a life. Notice when Paul speaks this to the church at Corinth; he doesn’t say carnal knowledge makes you proud—he doesn’t say knowledge of secular matters or worldly things. The context is for believers: knowledge makes you proud.
What is the only thing that keeps knowledge from making us proud? Only when knowledge comes with divine encounter do we remain humble. Take Paul on that donkey; God knocks him off, and when he comes out, he doesn’t walk away strutting, saying, «Wait until you see the books I’m going to write.» He doesn’t come out like that. He comes out humbled, with his tail between his legs, saying, «I delight in the privilege of being beaten and persecuted for this one I have seen.»
That perspective is different! The Bible says that you and I are the fragrance of Christ, which changes an atmosphere over the world and prepares the knowledge of the Lord. Fragrance is an experience, while knowledge is cognitive. These two concepts together mean that you and I are to carry the presence of God so significantly that we present an experiential knowledge that leads people to Christ.
I believe we are going to see effects—I think Chris prophesied this years ago. I believe when we started having those clouds and gold dust up here, we would see unusual manifestations in public spaces and businesses. God is preparing a people who value the presence more than anything else to become targets or initiators of God moving among us. I know of instances that are already happening, but I think they will become more frequent.
Here’s that moment: they minister to the Lord, and suddenly God comes, and they can no longer minister. I don’t know what else to call that but amazing. I think it’s appropriate—though I may be biased—that I believe we have the best worship ministry anywhere in the world. I am incredibly thankful for our teams that serve us; they do so day in and day out. This past week, one of our guitar players said, «My fingers are on their last legs,» jokingly. These individuals work tirelessly! I am grateful for our worship ministry.
They write songs from our experiences with God and take them worldwide. But as long as we enjoy them—that’s what matters to me most. Forgive me for that little selfish moment, but let’s be honest here. The issue lies in that ministry to God is often reduced to music, rather than lived experiences of life. Are those priests still ministering unto the Lord, laying on their faces without any more songs or trumpets? Yes, they are indeed priests! Yes, they are ministering to the Lord! How do they do it? By simply having raw, exposed hearts, yielding, and that was precisely what God delighted in.
I will emphasize this more in a later session, but one key aspect of Israel’s life was their daily work—viewing their labor as an expression of worship. When your job—whether at Starbucks, as a teacher, dental assistant, or whatever you do—when it becomes an expression of worship, we lose the ability to distinguish between sacred and secular. We desperately need to get rid of the separation between our Christian part of life and our non-Christian part because it simply doesn’t exist biblically!
As long as the church creates those separations, we justify thinking it’s us versus them. It’s challenging to serve a city when it’s us and them. We serve best when we realize it’s «us.»
I have been trying to grasp this for a few years now: to take daily tasks and have them become expressions of worship. Imagine if everyone in this room takes what we’ve been assigned to do and uses that as an offering to God; everything shifts. Why? Because fire always falls on sacrifice. Do you want to attract the King into the marketplace? Your principles are great, but giving an offering allows your work to transform everything.
My brother once recounted an appalling story about food poisoning in Africa for several days, where there was no water or flushing toilets. A worker came and manually cleaned out this toilet as he fell sick, singing the entire time, «I have the best daddy in the world.» How, I wonder, do you maintain such joy during that? He found that everything can be done as unto the Lord, giving Him glory.
I sense that this reality tips the scales, shifts, and impacts culture. I pray that grace envelops everyone in this room; may you not be tested beyond what you can bear.
Now, let’s go to chapter 9. We have a bit of time left; let’s hurry.
Verse 1 states, «It came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the King’s house and all Solomon’s desire, which he wanted to do, the Lord appeared to him a second time.»
There are a few instances in Scripture— I haven’t counted precisely, so forgive me—that state everything Solomon set in his heart was accomplished. What would it be like to live such a complete life in the things of God that everything you aimed for came to fruition before you died? I wonder how many in history have died having accomplished everything. I don’t think it’s many.
I just heard recently about a person who realized they were of advanced age, gathered their family, and stated that everything they’d dreamed had been done. They told their family they would be dying soon, and remarkably, that person was taken home to the Lord within days.
What would it be like? I think it’s a beautiful thought to reach the end of your life and realize, «Wow, it really worked!» Several moments and every promise I was given was fulfilled. I’m reminded of George Müller, who a newspaper writer once interviewed and asked if he had any unanswered prayers. He said he had never had unanswered prayers, except for one, which was in process—the salvation of the son of one of his close friends.
Chapter 11, and I’ll try to wind this down.
«But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh.» Anytime there’s a «but,» it signifies something important. «Women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Sidonians, Hittites, from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not intermarry with them, nor are they with you. Surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.'» Solomon clung to these women in love.
He had 700 wives—what possesses a man? That seems like a nightmare! It takes everything I have to manage my amazing wife. How in the world can one person manage 700 wives? It’s insanity; there’s not enough of you to go around!
Verse 4: «For so it was, when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God.»
Verse 9: «The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.»
I hope you can feel the weight of this. We regularly ask for increased encounters with you. Is that a legitimate prayer? I think so! Sign me up! I long for those moments in his presence where glory manifests. But does it make sense that the greater the exposure to the glory, the higher the demand placed on your life?
This verse states that the Lord was angry with Solomon. Why? Because he pursued foreign gods. What is the context? God appeared to him twice! This lifestyle of presence that we are hopefully learning to cultivate individually—hopefully we’re fostering it within our families and corporately—makes it essential that we work hard to cultivate a sense of presence about everything we do.
If we do not give God a place in our hearts, all we are left with is principle. David was the man of the presence, while Solomon became a man of knowledge that puffs up. Because of a flawed foundation based on self-will in worship, he ultimately ended up with a divided heart. What happened here?
This downfall didn’t occur in Solomon’s early life; it’s described as occurring later on. He started with a great beginning. Solomon conducted offerings beyond counting and demonstrated his generosity toward God. The culture around him had no adversaries to contend with, so we can’t even blame his fall on the devil—he wasn’t even present.
There was too much presence and too much wisdom; he was safe, and in that environment, Solomon turned his heart away because he didn’t protect himself.
One last note: ungodly alliances form between individuals constantly—men and women, business partners—and these form in unhealthy ways, creating access points for the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy. Who was Solomon? He was the guy God appeared to twice!
Who does that compare to in scripture? Perhaps only a few. The radical outpouring of the Holy Spirit was nothing less than the outpouring of the face of God to the people of God. The early church discovered the need to continually devote themselves to the apostles' teachings and fellowship, which is the crux. They continually renewed their covenant with God; they didn’t live off yesterday’s agreements.
The Old Testament offers prophetic pictures: Manna provided daily for Israel in the wilderness is a reminder that taking too much for today results in worms the next day! We can’t live off yesterday’s bread. The Lord emphasizes a current relationship. Faith comes by hearing—not having heard.
Faith is active; it pleases God. He is looking for a current generation that continually says yes. It’s critical to note that the church at Ephesus suffered tragedy because they stopped renewing their commitment to God. Revelation chapter 2 reminds us that they left their first love. Solomon had the potential to create a sustainable legacy for generations. Instead, he had fame, wealth, and presence, but he failed to adjust the self-will aspect of his life.
As a result, as king, he justified having as many wives as he wanted from foreign lands to sustain peace. Why did he have foreign wives? Because taking a foreign wife guarantees peace between you and that nation. It was compromise to fulfill a biblical mandate of peace.
I’ve run out of time. Why don’t you stand? Let me make one last comment to wrap this up. In Revelation, there is an extraordinary image of New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. It’s a cube, 1500 cubits—a cubit being about 18 inches. This cube is the New Jerusalem—the bride of Christ. What does it mean? I cannot quite grasp it, but I believe it’s good if God made it.
This cube reflects the Holy of Holies, where the priest approaches the glory. This ties into the new identity of every believer. I’ve learned, by accident, that you will always release into your surroundings whatever you are most conscious of.
Therefore, I pray for all of us as a church family and our guests. May this contagious sense of your presence permeate every facet of our lives. May we treasure your presence, allowing you to practically work it into our thinking and consciousness.
I pray in the wonderful, mighty name of Jesus.