Bill Johnson - Courageous Humility, How to Hold in Tension Blessing and Hunger
If anyone had a right to entitlement, it would be Jesus, and yet He illustrated the opposite. He illustrated that at your highest moment is where you have to become intentional to go to your lowest moment. At your highest moment of favor and blessing is the moment you turn your attention, take a towel, and start washing feet. I just got back Friday night from a ministry trip in Paris, Bordeaux, France, and Rome. It was really fun to have such a diverse group of people. I was invited by Jean Luc Tcal and Josanne to join them. He only works with diverse groups, which makes it very fun; you get every brand, every denomination available.
We had so many Protestants, Pentecostals, and Catholics, including Catholic priests involved. It was just so much fun to be in the body of Christ, celebrating the goodness of Jesus and worshiping together. There were healing meetings, and we saw wonderful moves of God and great miracles take place. I am just thankful. Europe has been kind of called the graveyard of the missionary, but not anymore. I don’t know what it used to be, but God has a habit of visiting hungry people, so watch out, Europe! It’s really encouraging for me to see what was happening in Paris. Great things took place in this gathering, and I went from there to Bordeaux, France. John Luc couldn’t find a building big enough for those who wanted to come for this healing meeting, so he called a bishop or archbishop, and they made a phone call to the large, old cathedral there. I got to preach in a packed place of people, including the priest of that particular house. He asked me to pray over him, and I asked him to pray over me. We had a good time cross-pollinating and enjoying the goodness of God. It was fun!
I went from there to Rome, and again it was a gathering of such diverse leaders, tons of pastors. I think four, five, or maybe six Catholic priests were part of it as well. Anyway, a great time was had by all. I’m very thankful to have gone to that and very thankful to be home with you all. I was in Paris, Rome, and Bordeaux instead of at the Wonder Conference. I had a good time, but I’m a little jealous looking at that video, especially when you have Denise getting up there saying what she said: «Tell your [whatever].» I could say the same words and nobody would be moved; she says one sentence and everybody wants to get right with God. I just was at Twin View, and that’s where she serves on Sunday mornings. The place went crazy when her clip came up in the Wonder video because they live with this woman—she breathes fire. It’s very funny; in Paris, Jean Luc is just this wonderful, burning evangelist, and so when it was my turn to speak, of course I said, «Jean Luc, he breathes fire; I breathe ice cream.» Ice cream’s good; you can’t cook meat with it, but ice cream’s good!
So anyway, we are going to receive a second offering. We don’t do this often, but this one’s for a noble reason: our Young Saints Camp is coming up, and they have three times more applicants for scholarships than normal. Because of the spirit of the age—the lost identity thing—we have a chance to really make a difference in some young people’s lives. If that resonates with you and you’d like to be a part of that, I encourage you—we have a QR code. If you need an envelope or a cash gift, put a hand up; we’ll get an usher to help you out. If you’d like to help us support these teenagers, this is a great opportunity to do so. I think this is kind of like wishing you’d bought Bitcoin early on. I had a chance; I turned it down; I obviously wasn’t hearing from the Lord. Well, this is one of those moments; you now have a Bitcoin moment to invest in a teenager. Really hear from the Lord concerning identity, their purpose, and their place in life. How many of you were impacted as teenagers at one of these camps? So many were, so remember that and help us help these kids. That’ll be great. Why don’t you come on down and do what you do? Come, thank you. Bring the buckets. We bless the offering. We thank you for teenagers whose lives we get to look ahead and say thank you for the lives that are about to be forever impacted for the glory of God. Amen!
All right, I have a few important things to read to you. Sometimes I get road rage walking behind people in the grocery store. A pessimist sees a dark tunnel; an optimist sees light at the end of the tunnel; a realist sees a freight train; the conductor sees three idiots standing on the tracks. Every once in a while, I go outside and run the vacuum cleaner over my driveway just to ensure the neighbors never talk to me. I asked my daughter to give me the phone book; she laughed at me, called me a dinosaur, and lent me her iPhone. So the spider is dead, but the iPhone is broken. My daughter is furious. My mind still thinks I’m 25; my body thinks my mind is an idiot. That one makes a lot of sense. One more: this, honestly, is the wisdom of Solomon brought up to today. Two women on a bus fought bitterly over the last available seat. The conductor had already tried unsuccessfully to intervene when the bus driver shouted to the conductor, «Let the ugly one take the seat.» Both women stood for the rest of the journey.
All right, open your Bibles, if you would, to John chapter 13. At one point, Jesus said, «A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown.» That basically says that a prophet is honored everywhere but at home. The point I want to make here as we get this started today is the contrast between the level of blessing and favor that God pours into our life with that one exception, which seems to be the cross or the difficulty—the challenge in our lives. So here we have the prophet is honored everywhere except at home, which is why I believe the Lord has all of us learn ministry at home first, so that we don’t become addicted to applause but instead become addicted to obedience—to doing what He said to do.
The second illustration I want to give is something that Jesus taught in the Gospel of Mark. It’s in the 10th chapter. He’s talking to His guys about how hard it is to enter the kingdom, and He talks about the issue of wealth. Peter says, «We left everything to follow you.» Jesus said, «That’s right, and I will add a hundred times as much of what you left back into your life, with persecution.» Yes, favor everywhere but at home, 100 times as much added back into your life with persecution. This life is filled with that contrast, that conflict, and learning to not live from the problem but to recognize favor on our life is what helps us to live continuously victorious from one level of victory to another.
I was at, I think, Bob Jones' funeral here back several years ago, sitting in the green room with friends—Rick Joiner, Rob Riner, and several others. We were just sitting there having a light-hearted conversation about some kinds of oppositions we face. Since most of us have had one or two of those kinds of problems creep up in life, we had a delightful conversation. Rob Weiner said, «I just call that income tax.» I said, «What do you mean, income tax?» He said, «Yeah, the more income, the more tax.» Wow. The more favor, the more opposition; the more blessing, the more objections. It’s what this life provides. It helps to keep us honest, humble, and dependent on the Lord because even in the seasons of greatest blessing and significance, there’s always that nagging part that reminds you you’ve not arrived yet.
What I want to talk to you about today is the issue of favor. Actually, in recent weeks, I’ve talked several times about authority, and the authority that we are to live in is based on the throne of God. The throne of God is founded on two things: justice and righteousness. I’ll illustrate this better towards the end of the message, but it comes down to this: Justice helps to fix what’s broken so that we can, in righteousness, build what’s possible. Justice fixes what’s broken so that, in righteousness, we can build what’s possible. You may not understand the role of righteousness in building, but it is clear throughout Scripture. Proverbs says a righteous man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. Righteousness has an effect on someone’s thinking and values so much that they begin to invest in future generations. The purpose is to enable them to build in their lifetime what we didn’t have time to build in ours.
The concept of building in righteousness is actually building lifestyles that bring glory to God, that are filled with His nature and reveal His covenant—His nature as a Father. All right, let’s read John 13. We’re going to begin with verse 1. What I’m doing in this passage is trying to set the stage for where we want to go, but I also want you to see the conflict of thought. If this were a movie script, the director would have a challenging time portraying the conflict in thought existing in these verses, so read through it with me and think as we do.
Now, before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Supper being ended, the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside His garments, took a towel, and girded Himself. Then He washed the disciples' feet.
I want you to look at verses 2 and 3 again: «Supper being ended, the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him. Jesus, knowing the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God.» It’s hard for us to comprehend the size, the magnitude of this particular thought process. There are not very many times, at least that I have recognized, where the Bible reveals what Jesus was thinking. It reveals what He was thinking through His deeds, but this is a moment of personal reflection, and it says in this moment, He came to the realization that the Father had put all things into His hand. Why is that significant? Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, already has everything—He’s God; it’s all His—but He laid it aside to take on flesh to die in our place and then, as a perfect man, to the restriction of human flesh that He has had for 33 years. It’s ending; it is all His. He has reinheritance; it’s all been put in His hands.
Number two: He’s pondering the fact that He was sent here by the Father and is going home. The heartbreak He had in that moment of crucifixion—"Father, let this cup pass from Me"—is significant. He had never once been separated from the Father in all of eternity, but in that moment, by becoming sin, He had that moment of separation. Now He’s going home. There have never been two parallel thoughts to enter the heart of a human being that are greater than those two.
From those two lofty themes, He puts a towel over His arm and turns to wash His disciples' feet. Jesus came into the world in a manger; He came into the world being placed in a food trough for cows. That was His first bed. He’s about to leave the world with the towel over His arm. He’s illustrating something you never grow out of. Part of the problem with favor and with increase in our lives is we tend to grow out of what we’re good at. We tend to grow out of where God has especially called and gifted us to touch the most despised and the most broken.
Authority, as I’ve been hitting this over and over again in recent weeks, is founded on righteousness and justice. Justice fixes what’s broken so righteousness can build what’s possible. So we have this idea that justice is actually giving a voice to speak on behalf of those who have little to no voice. Justice actually has to be exercised—not for self-promotion, not for personal vindication—but justice is used for those who can’t do it for themselves. That’s the whole point.
Authority is not given so that we can build our empire. When Satan came to Jesus and said, «Command the stone to become bread,» he was tempting Him to use His authority for Himself because, with a word, He could easily turn a stone into a meal. In that moment, a decision was made that authority is to be used for the benefit, the well-being, and the sake of others.
There’s a passage in Proverbs 18. We may read more out of this just depending on how we do with time, but let me read one verse to you. It’s in Proverbs 18, verse 23: «The poor man uses entreaties; the rich answers roughly.»
Let me talk about being poor and being rich, but I want to focus on it not being hooked to finances. It may include it, but that’s not the point. How many of you understand that if you’re surrounded by loyal friends, you’re rich? How many of you understand that if you have a healthy family, you’re rich? If you have a job with a sense of purpose and future, you’re rich. So, there are all these things in life. You have people out there that have all the money they want, but they’re extremely poor: their families are broken, their own health is broken, and they don’t have true biblical wealth.
I want to use 'rich' and 'poor' in that context today. I think it was Peter Wagner who said, «Revival always starts with the poor, but transformation comes through the rich.» Revival always comes to the poor, and transformation comes to the rich, so why not be both? Why not maintain poor in spirit? Because you can have no money and still be as arrogant as can be.
I’d like to suggest that what the Lord is targeting is being poor in spirit. Poor in spirit is not thinking little of yourself; it’s not self-criticism. Poor in spirit is really living in the awareness that I exist entirely by the grace of God. I am 100% dependent on the mercy and grace of God, and I never grow out of that posture.
In Christendom, we experience promotions, breakthroughs, and increases in favor. Often, I see this happen: people will consider the position they have in ministry something they fought hard for. I don’t want to ignore the fact that discipline, obedience, and faith were involved; I get all of that. But, as the Scripture says, «The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.» The horse is prepared; it’s critical that we do everything we can to train the horse for war. But when the victory comes, don’t give credit to the horse; he’s not that good. Don’t give credit to your training; you’re not that good. It’s actually the grace of God that used your loaves and fishes in training and multiplied them enough to have impact on history.
So here we have this Scripture: «The poor use entreaties.» What does it mean? Let me use poor in spirit in this context. A humble response to those around us is essential. What I see happen is that people become promoted and, as they do, they tend to be less and less sensitive to those who are further down, in a sense. I have been the good Samaritan; I have also been the Pharisee that walked past. I have been the guy that stopped for a situation where I could tell God was calling me to serve, but I’ve also been too busy with my own stuff to stop.
There’s something about living with the awareness that I exist only by grace. I didn’t earn this. On my best day, I didn’t earn this. The problem is that as favor comes into our lives and we become more influential and celebrated, a crust builds over the heart where now I will give attention to the powerful person but not to the one who lacks power.
I don’t doubt there’s a person in the room that I couldn’t take into a situation where someone is broken and dying and needing help, and you wouldn’t respond with great compassion and care. So I don’t believe that’s a problem for you or for me, but I also know what it is to be so locked up in my own stuff—not selfishly, but just locked into my assignment so much that I walk right past a moment where someone is really looking for help and they really don’t know how to ask. Had I been just a bit more sensitive, I wouldn’t have spoken roughly but instead would have spoken with entreaties.
It’s the proper use of authority. I wanted to talk to you today about what happened in Rwanda. I know very little; I know enough to express a story to you. I’m deeply moved by it. Chris Vallotton and Carrie were at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast a couple of months ago, and they brought back reports of what took place. Kagame, the president of Rwanda, spoke at this event, and there was a workshop where several of his cabinet members were present.
Here’s what happened: A huge genocide took place in Rwanda, I think in 1994, and literally millions of people were killed. Young men would rise up, kill the fathers in a village, and rape the women, making them watch as they slaughtered their own husbands. Atrocities beyond description occurred. There were so many people involved that the legal system could not possibly prosecute everyone who needed to be prosecuted for these heinous crimes. It was the widows in these villages, scattered around Rwanda, who decided something needed to be done. They could do it, and these widows got together and required that these young men come before them and acknowledge that they were the ones who had killed their husband, who had raped and pillaged. Imagine the heartbreak and tension involved as young men confronted with what they’ve done—people they grew up with—had to reckon with their actions.
A spirit of madness prevailed; they raped and killed. Yet, here’s the widow facing the young man who killed her husband and raped her, and often, it was the widow that not only forgave him but adopted him, bringing him into her household as a son. Imagine being that widow, watching this young man grow up, get married, and have his own children. The journey is extraordinary if there ever was a story, probably one of the top two or three stories in human history, certainly in the last hundred years or so.
These widows led a movement of forgiveness and reconciliation so much so that the president, seeing what happened through their leadership, determined to build his government largely out of women. Today, 60% of his government is women. If there’s any notion in any man here that men are the ones who need to be there to make all the right decisions, that’s just the spirit of stupidity on steroids. There’s a misunderstanding of one or two verses in Scripture that has placed women at a second-class status when, in fact, you women know this—you carry a grace into the environment that the rest of us need.
Justice fixed what was broken to create a foundation that righteousness could then build upon to make what is possible. A righteous man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. Righteousness causes us to think in terms of future generations and building, investing long-term, so that culture itself is shaped not by lack, violence, or abuse but instead, by the favor and blessing of the Lord. This has happened in a nation in Africa right before our eyes; it’s extraordinary.
I think all of this is connected: Jesus, about to be betrayed by 12 guys, of whom 11 would repent, has that on His mind as He turns with a towel and washes their feet. There’s a setting of humility; if anyone had a right to entitlement, it would be Jesus, and yet He illustrated the opposite. He illustrated that at your highest moment, you have to become intentional about going to your lowest moment. At your highest moment of favor and blessing, you go to your lowest moment and take a towel and start washing feet.
At your highest moment when you are to be praised, honored, and exalted is the moment you turn your attention to the person who was beaten on the street and all the situations we face throughout our lives. It’s using what God has given us. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but the Lord keeps bringing this justice thing up to me. Biblical justice does not build entitlement, and that’s what we all despise.
It’s easy to move into entitlement once you’ve tasted the favor of the Lord. We have to intentionally humble ourselves to recognize the neediest individuals in our world. We have to intentionally step into a sacrificial position to serve people outside our normal circle of influence. Does that make sense? I hope so, but I have a sense that the Lord is going to give us understanding about how to care for the homeless in a way that doesn’t humiliate them. Right now, the only way they can get help is to be humiliated, and I have a feeling it may be one of you who gets this idea. It may start with one person, one family, but something will happen—something will happen where the sexually abused and trafficked, we have friends we support all over the world that help with this now, but there’s still more.
I feel like the Lord’s going to give us insight as it pertains to adoption and foster care; we need to care for kids who just need someone to use their authority to make the decrees necessary for them to succeed in life. Someone to overlook their obvious infractions and broken decisions, someone to fight on their behalf who has authority, giving them a chance to succeed. This is what the gospel does: it starts in humility with a manger and ends with a towel over the arm to serve and wash feet.
There’s a posture that must be intentionally sustained for us to have the kind of impact and transformation necessary, and I honestly believe it’s possible for us to be the poor that attracts revival and the rich—poor in spirit and the rich—that helps to bring transformation. We are the ones who use our place, our authority, our insight, our resources, our time—whatever it might be—to forever change the destiny of a family, a whole family line. It has been given to us to do this. I’m going to read a few verses to you out of Proverbs 18:
«A man’s stomach will be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips, he shall be filled.» I love Proverbs; it forces me to think. A man’s stomach will be satisfied by the produce of his lips. Your natural, normal conversation has a lot to do with your personal fulfillment. A man’s stomach is the most natural appetite of being a human being; he will be satisfied by the fruit of his own lips. That one is overwhelming. Let me keep going. «But from the produce of his lips, he shall be filled.»
I think our speech affects our health, our income, and our ability to enjoy whatever it is that God has provided, whether it’s fine wine or rice. I know what I prefer, and it’s not rice. «Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.» Those who love the reality that both powers are in your speech will benefit from its fruit. In other words, what is said will be intentional, and it will greatly impact our lives. This is part of the use of authority in our lives that affects others.
«He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.» Amen to that! My life is forever marked because of the woman God gave me. «The poor man uses entreaties, but the rich answers roughly.» The poor man uses entreaties; the rich answers roughly. Carelessness of speech is an evidence of losing an awareness of what got us here.
Why do you think it is the Lamb of God, not the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, will be on the throne for eternity? It’s not a reminder of our sin; it’s a reminder of us being redeemed. It doesn’t make us sin-conscious; it makes us redeemed-conscious. The fact that the Lamb of God paid the ultimate price so that I could enjoy this forever. Amen.
Why don’t you stand? I want to pray over you. I want to pray for revelation to come upon us as a family because we all have different places of influence. We have different resources, from friends to insights to finances to titles. I just hope that maybe in the next couple of years, there will be things birthed here that, at the end of the next two years, we can look back and say we’ve learned to use authority better than we ever had before, and lives have changed as a result, pointing out specific situations that are different.
But before I do that, I want to give an opportunity for anyone here who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus. You don’t know what it is to be what the Bible calls born again. If there’s anyone here in that position, you’d say, «Bill, I don’t want to leave until I know I’ve found peace with God.» I want to ask you to put a hand up right where you are. Just by doing so, you’re saying, «Bill, that’s me; I want to be forgiven of sin; I want to receive Jesus; I want to be His disciple, His follower.» If you’re online, do the same; put it in the chat box. We’ve got pastors there, ready to pray for you and care for you.
Is there anybody in the room in that position? All right, let me pray for you. Father, it’s baffling to me how and why You would give us authority, yet You have, and I just want to do a good job with it. I know we do as a family, so I pray that You give us insight on how to properly exercise authority in people’s lives—to serve them well, to empower them. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.