Bill Johnson - Keys For Impacting Your Community
Words of life, words of strength that bring health to our body and our relationships, and we determine to eat from their fruit. So, I bless you with that. I pray that your words would be sweet, filled with life, and that the people around you would truly flock to you— not because those words are flattery, but because you have tapped into the life of the kingdom in all that you say. Well, hello there! Welcome back once again; we’re in Proverbs chapter 18 in our quest for wisdom. I pray that each of us would become infectious in our passion and desire for divine wisdom.
Proverbs chapter 18 starts with this verse: «He who isolates himself,» another translation says, «He who separates himself seeks his own desire.» Sometimes we withdraw from people solely due to selfish desires, and that is what is being spoken of. We need one another; we need rest and all those things, but as a lifestyle, we need people. It is not good for man to live alone, and there’s this overall theme that we are actually members of one another, which must be a regular part of our life. In fact, Hebrews 13 says, «With such sacrifices, God is well-pleased.» Chapter 13 mentions sacrifices, plural. One of the sacrifices mentioned in that verse is the sacrifice of fellowship. The connection with other believers must cost me; it has to be sacrificial for it to have its full impact on my life.
Alright, let’s look at a somewhat unusual verse, one that I really like but might be somewhat annoying to some: «He who is slothful in his work is brother to him who is a great destroyer.» It’s an interesting verse. There are two kinds of people mentioned in this verse: the Destroyer and the slothful in his work. By implication, there’s the person who is diligent. So we have the diligent in their work, the slothful, and the Destroyer. The two people who are most alike are the slothful and the Destroyer.
So let’s take this into the things of God: we have the passionate lover of God, the complacent believer, and the opponent to the gospel. Who are the two that are most alike? The complacent believer and the opponent to the gospel. The compromised life does more to invalidate the gospel than it does to validate it.
Alright, verse 14: «The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?» If you’ve been watching week after week, we’ve been focusing on this concept of health, particularly in our internal world, and the effect it has on our physical health. And here it is again: «The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness.» What does this say? This internal world that remains healthy will actually be a source of strength and life, providing everything it takes to endure difficulties in sickness. But who can survive if the spirit is broken?
You have one person who is faced with sickness, not from the Lord; this sickness comes, but they are healthy inside. What happens? They make it through. Another person faces the same disease, and they don’t survive. Why? Because oftentimes there’s brokenness inside that never gets fixed. Don’t take this as an accusation if you know of a relative or someone who died from a problem; it’s not an accusation that they didn’t take care of their inner world. It’s a challenge to make sure that you take care of yours.
Alright, let’s move on. I love this verse in verse 20: «A man’s stomach will be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips, he will be filled.» That’s interesting, isn’t it? A man’s stomach will be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth. Here’s just a question: I wonder if some of the digestive issues are actually created by what comes out of our mouths? Just a thought. I think the Lord will help us in the area of divine health. Here’s my challenge to you: there’s one generation in all of history that experienced divine health—only one as a generation, though there are many individuals. That generation was Israel in the wilderness in rebellion against God, and they lived with divine health. Superior covenants provide superior blessings. When Jesus atoned for and paid for sin, sickness, and torment, He was setting the stage for us to discover something. I believe the New Testament provides us with access to divine health at a level that not even Israel in the wilderness could experience.
Alright, «A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips, he shall be filled.» Then, one more verse—maybe two; we’ll see how we’re doing. Verse 21: «Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.» That’s interesting. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. I can speak words of death, and I can speak words of life. Those who love this reality will eat its fruit. In other words, those who love this reality will determine to speak words of life so that what I fill my soul with is literally the fruit of life-giving words.
One more thing, verse 23: «The poor man uses entreaties, but the rich answers roughly.» That verse is actually scary to me. The poor live with the humility that the wealthy don’t usually live with, and that’s why Jesus emphasized being poor in spirit. Being poor in spirit helps you to speak, to live, and to interact with people in a way that is entreating. Paul talked about this; he said, «Don’t receive an accusation against an elder; let young men entreat.» This is really the way that we do life; we make appeals to one another. We don’t come with accusations and harsh words. Sometimes people use harshness and anger in their speech because of their own puffed-up sense of significance, and we’ve got to make sure that we don’t do anything out of that Kingdom.
Words of life, words of strength that bring health to our body and our relationships, and we determine to eat from their fruit. So, I bless you with that. I pray that your words would be sweet, filled with life, and that the people around you would truly flock to you— not because those words are flattery, but because you’ve tapped into the life of the kingdom in all that you say. Amen.
I love giving my grandchildren and children gifts on my birthday. I have a birthday coming up, and that’s what I like to do because I have only one chance to show them what the Father is like, and I want to use that opportunity well. Whether rich or poor, it says that he will pay back, and the return will be 30, 60, and 100 fold. His interest rates are extreme. Well, hello once again! Thanks for joining us in this quest for wisdom. I pray that this infectious quest for wisdom will touch everyone in your life. Let’s do this together.
Alright, chapter 19 is where we are this week, and we’ll start with verse two: «It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge; he who hastens with his feet sins.» It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge. I love the emphasis on knowledge, understanding, and wisdom throughout the Book of Proverbs. It’s this quest for learning. If you think about it, that’s really what a disciple is— a disciple means learner. In fact, I remember years ago, Winky Pratt, a great friend and Bible teacher from New Zealand, once said, «Once you stop learning, you stop being a disciple.» The challenge throughout Scripture is that we must continuously be like children with a thirst and hunger to learn. That’s the adventure, and that’s really the invitation here.
He who lives without knowledge, without insight, and without conviction acts presumptuously and makes foolish mistakes. Now let’s move down to verse 11. This might open a can of worms, but I think it’s important. Verse 11 says, «The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger; his glory is to overlook a transgression.» His glory is to overlook a transgression. You know, the best way to do life is to live unoffended. You can’t escape circumstances and situations that are offensive in nature; you have to go to heaven to get away from that. So when it says, «It’s the glory to overlook a transgression,» it means that I’ve decided to live an unoffendable life. I choose to give up my right to be offended.
I’ve had it happen in recent years, especially when a situation arises that causes me to remember something that happened in high school or as a new pastor in Weaverville— just situations that happen to all of us in life where there’s disappointment, rejection, and painful experiences. As those things come to mind, the pain can come back. You can feel the disgust, shame, or the thought that it should never have happened, or that those people need to learn a lesson. And as you process, you realize, «Wait a minute, I’ve made a decision to live unoffendable.» So I give up my right to be offended. It’s glory—wow, it’s glory to overlook a transgression. God designed you and me to live in the reality of His glory.
Now, let’s move over to verse 17. This is a really special verse for me: «He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord; he who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord; he will pay back what he has given.» There’s reason to believe that a large part of the abundance that God wants to bring into the life of every believer is to equip us to administer justice and freedom to people through our kindness, serving, and gifts. It’s essential for us to recognize; I don’t ever want to walk past a crisis or need unaffected. Sometimes, we’re able to help, while other times, I try. I don’t live with a lot of cash, except in this case. I try to have cash with me; I may drive by someone at a stoplight who is a homeless Vietnam vet, and those situations just mess me up. So, I’ll have a stack of bills and put it in the console of my car, saving it for those moments.
I try to plan ahead for Sundays when a child has a birthday or when a homeless person is asking for help in the church lobby. I plan ahead, so I can do something to assist that situation. It is just the smart thing to do; it proves you’re alive. I know that this $20 bill or whatever isn’t going to fix the problem, but I also know it will testify of the kindness of God towards that person. Sometimes, we strive to go above and beyond what would be expected in a given situation. Why? Because it testifies of Him; it reflects what He’s like.
I have a birthday coming up, and this may not be a good example because my kids and grandkids aren’t poor, but I love giving gifts to my grandchildren and children on my birthday. I plan ahead for a long time and think about how I will honor them because I have only one chance to show them what the Father is like. I want to use that opportunity well. Whether rich or poor, it says that God will pay back, and when He does, it’s a 30, 60, and 100 fold return. His interest rates are extreme.
Let’s move on— we have two more verses I want to read. The fear of the Lord: «The fear of the Lord leads to life; he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.» That’s interesting. You might think, «Well, I fear the Lord, and I’ve had all kinds of horrible things happen to me.» Return to what He says, meditate on that, and learn to declare it over every single part of life. «He who fears the Lord leads to life.» Embrace that as deeply as you can. «The fear of the Lord; he who has it will abide satisfied and thrilled, and it will never take you into evil,» and that is absolutely true.
The fear of the Lord and the satisfaction that comes from having the right priorities by living in the fear of God will never lead you to evil. Now we’ll do one more verse, verse 27: «Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.» Cease listening to instruction, my son; if you stop being a learner, you will stray from what you’ve already learned. That’s what it’s saying. Cease listening to instruction, my son; you will stray from the words of knowledge. What are the words of knowledge? They are what you’ve already learned. If you stop being a learner, you will stray from what you’ve already learned.
That’s a scary place to end, but it’s a good one. It helps us stay humble and childlike in our adventure of learning before the Lord. We are here for the same reason: we just want to honor God with all that we are and all that we do. I pray that for you. I pray this week would be a time when the adventure of learning impacts every single part of your life. Amen.
We emphasize a lot around here a culture of honor, but a culture of honor is not a culture of flattery. A culture of honor sees the heart of the Lord for a person and brings that heart into being. Flattery is a counterfeit of honor; honor celebrates a person for who God made them to be and acknowledges their great work of grace in that person’s life.
Hello there once again! Thanks for joining us in this quest for wisdom. We’re in chapter 20 of Proverbs, and we’re going to try to take three or four verses— let’s see how we do— just to highlight some things about the subject of wisdom and how it functions in our life. Alright, let’s get started.
Let’s begin with verse three: «It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel.» That’s such a great verse! It’s honorable for a man to stop striving because any fool can start a fight. Anyone can start an argument. We live in such a volatile culture right now; the spirit of offense is being given away for free to anyone who will just pick up a cause to become angry about. It’s not hard to start a fight. You just make one post on the internet or one statement in church, and you’ll find people easily offended.
So we need to pray our way through this season, ensuring that we are not contentious people. We should speak truth. Scripture says to speak the truth in love. Say what you need to say, but speak it with love, keeping the end result in mind. Here’s some advice: don’t speak just to give people a piece of your mind. Speak because you want to contribute to their well-being. If you do that, you’ll know the difference between speaking truth and speaking truth in love, because love always considers the outcome.
Alright, let’s move on. Here’s an interesting verse in verse five: «Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.» Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. This may be a stretch for you, but consider Saul when he was a young man. His father’s donkeys were missing before he became king. His dad sent him and a servant to look for the donkeys. They looked for, I forget, maybe three days or so and couldn’t find them. The servant said, «Let’s go to the prophet Samuel; he knows everything.»
So they went to the prophet. This is what Samuel did: he saw Saul coming and said, «Your donkeys have been found.» This is interesting. «Your donkeys have been found, but come back tomorrow morning, and I’ll tell you all that is in your heart.» That’s when he prophesied about Saul becoming king. Saul was unaware that this was in his heart, but the prophet saw it. A man of understanding was able to bring to the surface what God had planted in Saul’s heart early in life.
It’s a fascinating story. When you seek to answer the questions people are asking, you position yourself to answer the questions they should be asking. «Where are my donkeys?» Now they’ve been found. Here’s the purpose for your life: you were designed to be king. Saul blew it; he did many things wrong, but God didn’t set him up to fail; He set him up to succeed. Counsel and wisdom enable a person to scale the wall. A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the trusted stronghold.
Alright, let’s move on quickly. Verse seven says, «A righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.» I don’t know what else to say except that when you choose righteousness, you benefit multiple generations. When you choose this way of life, it affects your descendants. I met with my children when they were newly married and told each of them, «You won’t have some of the same financial challenges that your mom and I had, and the reason is that I have lived generously and have set the stage for you to prosper.»
How can I say that? Because David lived with extreme generosity, and Solomon benefited from his choices. We need to live knowing that our choices today affect generations we may never see. That’s a wonderful scripture for us.
Now let’s move down to verse 19. I may take a couple more verses—let’s see. Verse 19 says, «He who goes about as a tailbearer reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.» That verse fascinates me! He who goes about as a tailbearer, the one who reveals the secrets of other people, conceals their heart with flattery. In Proverbs, here he connects the tailbearer, who reveals the secrets of another person, to how they conceal the evil in their heart.
We emphasize a culture of honor, but a culture of honor is not a culture of flattery. A culture of honor sees the heart of the Lord for a person and brings that to the surface, giving attention to what God has done in that person’s life. I’ve watched many people try to create what they call a culture of honor, but all they’ve done is move into flattery. Flattery is a counterfeit of honor; honor truly celebrates a person for who God made them to be.
So, I bless you with that. We’ll end with that one. Actually, I have time for one more; forgive me. Here it is, verse 27: «The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord.» I don’t understand this one. The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord. We’ve talked quite a bit in recent weeks about managing our inner world, making sure it stays healthy. Well, here the Lord says that what you manage well becomes the lamp that God uses to reveal all that He’s put in a person’s heart.
So, a healthy heart enables the Lord to shine on the desires, dreams, callings, giftings, and pursuits that God has created us for. He uses our own healthy inner world to help us discover what God has planted in us. I hope that helps. It blesses me, and I bless you with that. I pray that you have a spectacular week discovering the great promises of God. Amen.
It’s a stronghold in people’s thinking that becomes a stronghold in behavior. A wise man can scale that wall and what does he do? He brings down the stronghold in which they trust. Now, this gives us a key: what is a stronghold? It’s any area that people trust in other than God. That’s how strongholds are created.
Hello once again, welcome to chapter 21 of Proverbs in our quest for wisdom— really, the quest for the mind of Christ, practically implemented into everyday parts of life. We’re going to start right here with verse 3: «To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.» That’s very significant because, sometimes— let’s just take this in a practical sense—sometimes it’s easier to give a financial gift toward a problem than it is to become involved in the problem to make sure justice is served.
Justice is served whenever you and I care for people who have no voice. The abortion issue is very current; it’s important that we speak on behalf of those without a voice, and certainly, the unborn qualify. Sometimes, certain races in our culture have less of a voice than others. It’s crucial that we speak on behalf of those who have been silenced. That’s what justice is, and all the other sacrifices we make are important, but they are not more important than the actual act of justice— serving those in a world of hurt who need someone to stand up for them.
One of my favorite verses in Proverbs talks about poverty: «There is wealth in the soil of the poor, but injustice keeps it from them.» Think about that; there is wealth—in other words, every person stands on their own potential breakthrough, but some stand on glass. It is injustice that keeps them from the breakthrough God has positioned for them. What justice does is deal with the injustices of life.
Now, you may say, «Well, this person is poor because of their own choices.» Certainly, that can be true, but if all of us were left to the fruit of our bad choices, none of us would be alive. It is the mercy of God that positions us to be administers of justice.
Okay, let’s move on quickly. I want to jump right into verse 13. We see an old subject again. Solomon in his writing of Proverbs brings up these things over and over again: «Whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.» That’s interesting. If I refuse to be moved by the needs of people around me— neither of us has the resources to fix every problem— but we all have enough resources in our heart to lend an ear, a moment of prayer, or sometimes a financial gift to help someone in need.
We are taught to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. It is essential that we don’t excuse ourselves from the cries of the people around us just because we don’t have the resources to fix their problems. Sometimes, what they need is someone who cares. I wish I had the money to fix this problem; sometimes what they need most is someone who will listen.
I’ve watched people sit down with the homeless and others in crisis, and they just sit and listen. Sometimes, that’s the greatest gift you can give a person. I pray that the Lord would enable all of us to do more— to help people in these situations.
The scary part of this verse is that if we’re not moved by their cries, we might be in the same position— but this time, the Lord will make sure nobody hears you, and that is a very stern warning.
Verse 15 says it is a joy for the just to do justice. I love that statement! It is a joy for the just to do justice. In other words, there is a personal satisfaction that comes from being a just person. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, and we rule and reign with Christ. Thus, righteousness—the value of all that is right— and justice—the implementing of rightness into situations— must be the foundation that I live from.
Because I am in Christ, I am a just person, and part of where I find my joy is in administering justice— not in punishing or hurting people, but ensuring that this child, for example… On Father’s Day, for example, we do a number of things each year, but I try to pray for all the fathers in the room. Then I have the single moms stand up—those who have a challenging time caring for and providing for their kids. I have them stand up and tell the church, «We’re not going to just pray for these women; I don’t want you to get away with just blessing them with prayers. I want you to give them money.»
We challenge everyone to take cash out of their pockets and go bless them. There is a certain delight in providing that act of justice to someone whose husband may have died or even left them for their secretary, or some horrible situation. It’s a certain delight we find in administering justice in those situations, and this is what the just do.
Let’s move on quickly— a very important verse for me is verse 22. If you’ve followed me at all in this particular series, one of the things I look for is anything that gives me understanding on capturing cities or bringing cities to Jesus. For many years, I’ve tried to find this, and I think Proverbs holds the secrets to capturing cities and bringing cities to Jesus. Here it is in verse 22: «A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the trusted stronghold.»
Think with me on this. A wise man uses wisdom to scale the wall—the city of the mighty. What is it that keeps them from your influence? A wise man can scale that wall, and what does he do? He brings down that trusted stronghold. Now, we know from Scripture there are strongholds in people’s thinking.
For example, there might be certain areas where perhaps an entire culture is steeped in alcoholism, and drunkenness just becomes a generational cycle, creating a stronghold. Others may be steeped in religious pride and arrogance and remain untouched by anything to do with God; that creates strongholds in their behavior.
This tells us a wise man brings down the stronghold in which they trust—now this gives us a key. Remember, a stronghold is any area that people trust in other than God. That is how strongholds are created.
Just think about it— the moment a person finishes work, if they don’t want to go home to an angry wife or husband, they may choose to stop by a bar instead. What have they done? They’ve developed a trusting relationship with that environment, which becomes a stronghold that poisons every part of their life.
The story can be told over and over again; a businessman who stays late after work might want to avoid fighting at home. It is a stronghold where he finds his trust in money or in his status in the community. Those areas of misplaced trust over time, not overnight, become strongholds. Strongholds are places where the demonic hides, and they hide in areas of misplaced trust.
I just really like this verse because it helps me understand what governs the mentality and value system of a community. Alright, I think that will be it for now. No, wait! One more verse: «The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is from the Lord.» I love that verse!
Why? Because the horse prepared for battle is our part. It’s essential that we live with the realization that if we win a battle, it’s all because of Him. I bless you with that! I pray this week will be filled with great victories. Amen.