Bill Johnson - Encounter God's Presence As You Abide In Him
If you feel qualified, you don’t see it clearly because the only possible response to seeing what God expects from our lives is the overwhelming sense that I could never pull this off. That’s the position that the Lord puts every one of us in so that He can demonstrate who He is. Good works are a critical part of the Christian life—feeding the poor, serving those without clothes or housing, or whatever it might be, fill in the blanks. The overall gamut of meeting human needs is a huge part of the Christian life, but if we’re honest, we’ll realize that feeding the poor and all these other amazing and wonderful things can be done by people who don’t know the Lord. There has to be an aspect of our service before the Lord that only He can do in and through us. It has to cross the line into the realm of impossibility, or it has not adequately given witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
There is in every one of us an inbuilt appetite for the impossible that would bend its knee to the name of Jesus through our lips. It’s critical; it’s vital that this is a regular part of our life. If it is not, we have to come back before the Lord and find out why not. This requires introspection, but we need to learn where to take risks. The Lord is looking for people who will come into agreement with what He has said. There is an alignment—I almost hate to use the word «alignment» because cults use it, but we’re called a cult, so maybe it’s all right. I don’t know. There is this agreement, this alignment we make with the Lord. When people come into proper alignment or agreement with what He has said, there is a display of what God intends on the earth. Mary has an angel show up and make this announcement of God’s intention, and everything that God intends to do in and through you is absolutely impossible.
As I’ve already stated, if you’re not overwhelmed by your assignment, you don’t see your assignment clearly. What He intends to do is absolutely impossible; it’s to put us in the place of absolute dependency so that He can work in and through us to display Himself as the God of the impossible. That is His intention, and He has designed it so for every person who puts their faith in Christ. It is not for a select few; it is the design of God for every person. So the angel shows up to Mary and says, «Rejoice, highly favored one.» Typically, you rejoice after the baby is born, but she was commanded to rejoice. It’s coming!
There is not one situation that anybody in this room faces for which you wouldn’t like to have a miracle, and that Jesus has not already settled the issue, paid the appropriate price so that that miracle could be accomplished in His name. There is not one situation He did not pay for, so you and I would leave it on the lot. Everything in our life has already been settled. The cross that Jesus suffered on was complete in its effect and in its work. There is not one thing anybody in this room could face that Jesus would look at and say, «Ah, wish I would have thought of that before I died; I would have put that on the cross too.» There are none of those things! Every single issue of life—in fact, not just in this life but throughout all of eternity—has already been settled.
So when the angel of the Lord comes to Mary and says, «Rejoice, highly favored one,» it is because this thing has already been settled in heaven. If we knew how much was already settled in heaven, joy would be the natural response, celebration beforehand, because the reality is eternity defines every situation we face. I may be in the middle of a conflict here, but I’m also in the middle of a breakthrough here. I may be in the middle, I hope, of a challenge here because it’s necessary for faith to grow, but I’m also experiencing great breakthrough here. Every person in this room was designed to invade this realm called impossibility. Verse 37 says, «For with God nothing will be impossible.» Say that with me: «With God nothing will be impossible.» Say it again: «For with God nothing will be impossible.» We’ve looked at this countless times through the years, and I realize for many of you this will be a repeat, but I love repeating it: «With God nothing will be impossible.»
That phrase, «nothing will be impossible,» has an interesting makeup, and it was Jack Taylor who helped me to understand this many years ago. I actually heard him teach on this passage before I ever met him; he has since become a personal friend and a friend of our house, and he writes me regularly just to encourage me. He is such an amazing father in the faith. He took this verse, «Nothing is impossible with God,» and broke it down. The word 'nothing' is actually two different words: it’s the word 'no, ' but then it’s the word 'rhema.' Rhema is the distinction in the Greek language for God’s word. Logos would be more used for the written word; rhema is that which is freshly spoken. Just think through this with me: «Rhema no» means no freshly spoken word of God will be impossible. The word 'impossible' actually means 'without ability.' So this verse can be translated this way: «No freshly spoken word of God will come to you that does not contain its own ability to perform itself.» Wow! No freshly spoken word of God will come to any one of us that does not contain its own ability to ensure that what was spoken actually happens.
And that’s why the next verse is so significant. Verse 38: Mary said, «Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.» We used to sing this song years ago, «Be it unto me according to your word.» It was this wonderful song Dick Joyce, in fact, taught us, who is home with the Lord now, but a wonderful prophet friend that made such a huge difference in our lives in Weaverville and here at Bethel. He taught us this song; I’ll never forget it: «Be it unto me according to your word.» We would just sing this song, using scripture to sing into this place of absolute surrender: «God, we want you to perform in and through us all that you intend.»
Now catch this thought: Jesus came to reveal the Father. In The Gospel of John, the predominant feature is that Jesus came to reveal the Father. Yes, ten of you agree. Has anyone ever read The Gospel of John? If I keep at it, by the end of the day, we should have everyone. Okay! Jesus came to reveal the Father. Here’s the deal: the Father is only revealed through His children. In other words, He can be revealed, but not as Father. He can be revealed as Almighty God; He can be revealed as the great judge; He can be revealed as the Creator; He can be revealed as a thousand different things. But if He’s revealed as the Father, it’s in connection to the revelation of who His kids are. The point I want to make is that you and I have this incredible privilege to reveal the Father by us being what He has designed us to be. In other words, if I claim to be a good father, then it has to be measurable by how my children are treated. Yes, your relationship with God as your Father illustrates the quality of His fathering. Jesus illustrated that perfectly by doing what He saw His Father doing and only saying what He heard His Father say.
You go to a place in Rome, throw a coin into the fountain, and make a wish; on your birthday, a cake is brought to you and you blow out the candles and make a wish. In children’s stories, you rub on a lantern, and a genie comes out and you make a wish. All through history, people have created stories that try to answer the cry of the heart for fulfillment of why we’re alive. There are cute children’s stories, there are fables, there are all these things; I’m fine with all of them as stories, but they actually are all attempts to reveal what it is to be in right relationship with the Father because you were born to demonstrate unity between a son, a daughter, and the Father. So she says, «Be it unto me according to your word.» That’s the amen! I can’t make that impossibility happen. How many of you are aware you cannot make what God wants out of your life happen? But what I can do is say yes. What I can do is invite Him to do what only He can do. So say this with me: «Be it unto me, according to your word.»
Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 1. We’re going to take a look at the Christmas story a little bit, but there are just a few things that I want to address that touch me year-round out of this story. Everything about our walk with Christ has its roots in what we do with what God says. God spoke the worlds into being; He literally spoke, and it was there. Psalms 33:6 says, «And by His word, the heavens were made.» God literally just speaks things into existence. Faith comes from hearing, so faith itself is a product of God’s creation within our hearts. We are targets for Him to deposit His own nature of faith into the life of every believer. His word holds everything together. In Colossians, it says, «In Him, all things consist.» Things are held together by the word of His power. So literally, everything that exists is held in place because God spoke and said it to be so. His word is what gives us life. We live not by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from His mouth. So we are alive spiritually, vibrant, because He speaks and we listen. What we do with what He says is vital.
Now, God is sovereign; He can force anything upon us that He wants to force upon us. He’s all-powerful, all-knowing—everything. But He has chosen to write us into the story so that we actually have an effect on what happens. We know this from several places, but we know this specifically as it pertains to the word of God. We know this from the parable of the seed and the sower. We know that there is hard ground that doesn’t receive seed. We know there’s rocky ground—hard places that are not dealt with in the human heart that resist the word of God. We know that there is soil with thorns and other things planted in there—it’s just basically people that not only entertain the word of God but also entertain other ideas that compete with what God has said, strangling the word. Then there’s the good soil. The effectiveness of God’s all-powerful word is connected to the condition of the heart of the person.
So in other words, what we do with what God has said actually has an impact on, if I can say, the success of what God has said. In Mark chapter 7, Jesus addresses this concept when He’s talking to the Pharisees, and He rebukes them because of their value of tradition. In other words, man-made values, concepts, and ideas were held above what God said. He made this profound statement—He was known for doing so. He said, «By holding to these traditions, you have rendered the word of God of no effect.» So think with me: the word of God, the most powerful thing in the universe, Jesus says you, at least for this season, are able to render the all-powerful word reduced to no power at all. If I could illustrate it this way, if there were a guitar up here that was cranked up extremely loud, and I walked over to the wall and pulled the plug out, I just rendered the electric instrument powerless. I rendered it of no effect. And God has actually given us this role as co-laborers that we can use for or against what He is saying.
Now, I do want to add here that there are aspects of the will of God that you can vote yes on or you can vote no on; it doesn’t make any difference whatsoever. He’s going to accomplish what He’s purposed to accomplish. But there are other aspects of His will that you, your part, is actually critical. Those are two sides of the same coin—two issues that actually work in complement to one another, and our «yes» to what God has said is a huge part of the fulfillment of His word. So this means that what you and I do with what God has said plays a huge role in what is going to be produced through us. What do you want to give birth to? You will give birth to whatever you host in your heart. What you value, what you treasure—if it’s fear, if it’s bitterness, if it’s jealousy, if it’s selfish ambition, if it’s all the other things outside the purposes of Christ—anytime we embrace these kinds of things and treasure them in our hearts, they actually influence what comes out of our mouths, which is an indicator.
Let me say this differently: if you watch your heart, you don’t have to watch what you say. The trigger to knowing the heart needs help is by hearing what we say that comes out of our mouths. I listen; we are pro-life. We believe that every baby should live, but yet we abort the word of God over and over and over again. The life of God that is imparted to us through what God says is often aborted in the name of reason, in the name of not being gullible. Amen!
Giving place to God’s word, James 1 says, «In humility, receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.» In humility, soil condition—receive the word implanted. Seed carries God’s DNA implanted, and it’s that seed that is able to save my soul. You say, «Well, I’m already born again; I was saved!» I’m being saved, and someday I’m going to be saved. Those are the three dimensions of salvation, and that is just the way it works. So the word of God is what enables us to be completely transformed, and it’s by what we host and what we give attention to in our hearts. It’s evident by our meditation; it’s evident by our prayers; it’s evident by our confession, our proclamation.
All right, so let’s go right to Luke chapter 1. We’re going to jump around a bit, so just follow closely. We’ll start with verse 5 of chapter 1, looking first at the story of Zacharias and John the Baptist. There was, in the days of Herod, King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Stop right there. If you know this story, you know that Zacharias is known for his moment of unbelief. Righteous people can sometimes be unbelieving. Faith comes from hearing, not having heard. Wow, it’s a present tense relationship with the Lord. Randle Warley helped us with this years ago; he said that Abraham was required to sacrifice his son Isaac, and as he drew back the knife, the angel said, «All right, never mind.» Isaac was very glad his father kept hearing what God was saying and didn’t just respond to what God had said. There are many dead Isaacs because nobody kept hearing. The strength and power lie in the present moment when God speaks.
I hear people say, «If you want to hear God’s voice, just look down at the Bible,» and that’s true; there’s credibility there. But it destroys the passion of the heart to hear and interact with the Almighty God, who is the perfect Father. All right, I’m going off course here. Let’s get going.
The angel of the Lord appeared, verse 11, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. The angel said to him, «Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard.» I researched that years ago, and basically found that this phrase, «Your prayer has been heard,» means «the prayer you no longer pray has been heard.» Interesting.
Later, we see evidence of that as he discounts what God has said, considering his own age. It wouldn’t be a prayer he would continue to pray. It’s interesting that our prayer life releases things before the Lord that continuously stay before the Lord, even though at times we stop praying them.
Verse 14… oh, excuse me, let’s back up to the second half of verse 13 again. The angel said, «Do not be afraid, Zacharias. Your prayer is heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.» This is interesting because even John, we know, was the bold prophet to alarm people into repentance. Jesus was the one who played the flute, so to speak; he came with mercy and grace. But even John was to be known for bringing joy. If there’s no joy, repent yourself into joy. That was a good word, Bill; that was a good word!
All right, so he said, «You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.» Now, let’s jump over to verse 20. Oops, I missed such an important part! What are you doing here, Bill? Come on! Okay, here we are; my apologies.
Verse 17: «He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.» Zacharias said to the angel, «How shall I know this? For I am an old man, well advanced in years.»
The angel answered and said, «I am Gabriel.» Listen, anytime you ask the angel how you can know he’s telling the truth and he says, «I’m Gabriel,» you’re in trouble. You just stepped off the deep end; that spirit of stupidity just jumped right on you. He says, «I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you these things to bring you glad tidings.»
Verse 20: «But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their own time.» You will be mute because you did not believe. Many believers lose their voice of influence because of unbelief. God, in His mercy, silences those who are about to destroy their destiny with their own confession. It’s the mercy of God to silence a person’s voice who is about to destroy their own destiny.
The purpose of God was outlined in the decree, and when Zacharias asked, «How do I know this is really going to happen?» the angel said, «All right, you’ll be silent for nine months.» When John was born, he wrote on a piece of paper that his name was to be John, which is not a family name. That was outside of their tradition. At that moment, when he returned to the word of the Lord, his mouth was loosed. God speaking to your heart and Him speaking to my heart is what gives us voice, and our voice apart from God’s voice is worthless.
Jump over to verse 34. The previous verses start with verse 26. An angel shows up, Gabriel once again, and speaks to Mary, saying she’s going to give birth to the Christ child. Verse 34: Mary said to the angel, «How can this be since I do not know a man?» The angel answered and said, «The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God, nothing will be impossible.»
Mary said, «Behold, the maidservant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.» That phrase, «Let it be to me according to your word,» was taught to us by one of our dear friends from many years ago, who is now in heaven. He taught us a chorus that went, «Let it be unto me according to your word. Let there be a performance of all that you have spoken.»
It’s a very profound part of the Christian life because Zacharias was given a word that made no sense. Mary was given an even harder word that made no sense. Zacharias wanted proof; Mary wanted understanding. We never have the right to put God on trial. Many people withhold their obedience until they have understanding. We do not have the right; He does not owe us anything. If He ever reveals a reason, purpose, or promise, that’s a bonus. All we need to know is what to do; we have no right to hold Him hostage to an explanation. He is God; we are not.
Mary asked for understanding; Zacharias wanted evidence. Wow, not a good plan. But what does it tell me about Mary? She said, «How can this be? I am a virgin,» and the angel of the Lord says, «The Spirit of God will come upon you, and you’ll conceive and give birth to a son.» I don’t have any evidence for this, but I don’t think Mary understood any better after his explanation than she did before. Her question was, «How can this be? I’m a virgin.» «Oh, the Spirit of God will come upon you.»
Okay, I’m not going to ask the question again. How can this be? In other words, the explanation carried life and the life was what was needed. The verse that says «nothing will be impossible with God» is important. We study this probably every six months or so, but the word «nothing» is two words: «no» and «Rhema,» the freshly spoken word of God. So it means no freshly spoken word of God will be without ability. Jack Taylor taught us years ago that this could actually be translated like this: «No freshly spoken word of God will ever come to you that does not contain its own ability to perform itself.»
That concept is in James 1:20 or 21, where it says, «In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul.» The power for transformation is in the word you receive. He said, «If my word abides in you,» it’s an intentionality. It doesn’t happen by accident. There has to be an intentionality on my part that says, «God spoke to me; it means a lot to me.» I’m going to have it typed out on a 3×5 card, and I’m going to stick it next to my bed for 33 years. I’m going to ponder it often; I’m going to pray it; I’m going to declare it.
«If you abide in me and my word abides in you.» The best example is Mary, the mother of Jesus. The words that were given to her by the shepherds and the wise men, Anna and Simeon—they would speak things to her, and it said she treasured these words in her heart. Another word used is that she would ponder them. She would bring out of concealment treasures you hide away, not because you don’t want anyone to know, but because you’re a steward of something divine. It’s not open for human trafficking.
Joseph shared his dreams at an inappropriate time and created problems for himself that he didn’t necessarily have to face. Psalms 105 says, «Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.» His word was the dreams given from God but spoken out of season. During that whole season, he was being tested by the word of the Lord to get him ready to inherit what he had declared over his own life.
Mary took the treasure and then would bring it out to ponder, review, consider, and think over it. If you have a vase that’s worth a million dollars, first of all, I want to know where you got it! If you have a vase worth a million dollars, you don’t put it on the coffee table where the children are playing. Why? It makes no sense; it would break for sure. If you treasure it, if you value it, you’re going to put it where it’s safe.
It doesn’t mean you put it in a safe and never bring it out, but you only bring it out in safe environments. I believe in broadcasting the good news to anyone and everyone, but there are some things that he has spoken so deeply and tenderly to you that your stewardship over that word is the willingness to share it with no one.
I know that goes against so much of what we believe and say, but I hope you receive it in context. If he says something to you, you may not broadcast it because it is intimately for you. Sometimes we work to gain notoriety by sharing what God has shown us, when in fact we’re supposed to sit on it.
He says, «If you abide in me, there’s living in that felt realization of presence, and my word abides in you.» You take that which is an absolute treasure and bring it out at the most appropriate times to review and ponder. Those two things working in you will qualify you to pray the most extreme things and watch them happen.
He says whatever you desire will happen. What he doesn’t say is that if you pray what I tell you to pray, I’ll answer your prayer. That’s how it’s commonly taught, and I get it. Us praying «Holy Spirit-led prayers» is huge; when the Holy Spirit leads us to pray something, then that’s what we do.
I remember years ago we were having a leaders' conference, and we just received news that our friends were down in Fiji. An earthquake had happened in the ocean, and there was a tidal wave headed toward Fiji. Do you remember this, Chris? We began to pray as a group. We had just gotten the news.
We started to pray that God would protect them, specifically praying, «God, put a brick wall between that wave and that island.» Strange way to pray, I know, but it was a really Holy Spirit-anointed prayer. Someone found a painting that was done prophetically the night before. They went and got it and put it up, and it was a wave with a brick wall and an island. They had painted it the night before.
How many of you know that gives you confidence in your praying? Suddenly this prophetic imagery takes on meaning and power, and there was an intensity that took place in our prayer. The news we received just a little while later was that the tidal wave had dissipated completely.
The point is there’s none of that stuff that cannot be answered if we just step into the place of praying the heart of God over a matter. I know we’re supposed to pray as he leads us, but I think there’s a certain amount of liberty. It feels to me like God has put himself at risk to the desires of his surrendered people. Four times in three chapters, he says, «Whatever you ask for.»
Four times! This is the same context where he says, «I no longer call you servants; I call you friends.» Singing «I Am A Friend Of God» doesn’t make you a friend of God. It’s a good song, but it requires time.
I remember when Brian and Jen’s Haley was first born. Actually, Haley was due I think a day or two later on a Sunday morning. I was at the back door, and she stopped by; she was great with child, ready to give birth to their first child. She stopped at the door and said, «I’m ready,» and I spontaneously laid hands on her and prayed. She instantly went into labor!
Don’t come to me if you’re pregnant, because it hasn’t worked one time since then, but it worked then. Come to find out, she was in really critical condition when she was born. It was a very scary time.
I remember all of us being in the hospital waiting room praying. Now, I remember Benny separated herself from the whole group that was praying. She got along with God and asked, «Father, what are we doing?» All she wanted to know was what He was doing, and He spoke something very simple to her. By herself, she took that step, did what He said, prayed accordingly, and everything turned around very, very quickly.
Why? Co-laboring. It’s co-laboring; it’s doing what he’s doing, it’s saying what he’s saying. Surrender will take you everywhere you need to go. Surrender will take you everywhere you need to go, everywhere that your heart aches for.
Something happens in these moments, and I believe that the Lord is… Here’s what I think: I think Peter learned this. I can’t prove it, but I think Peter learned it; I think that’s why his shadow healed. I think that’s why his shadow healed.
Your shadow will always release whatever overshadows you. If you live in the felt realization of presence, everything about you, even shadows, becomes important, significant, and meaningful. I’ve seen it happen—walking by somebody and the shadow heals. We’ve seen these things happen through the years, but there are exceptions. I think he’s inviting us into a lifestyle.
What would it be like to have one hour of your day—just one hour—where every thought you had was a thought from him? Every perspective you had in that one hour was a perspective that he had. I have this sense that it would become so addicting that we’d want to press it onto two hours a day and three.
Simeon and Anna—I think, I mean, I can’t prove it; 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; they lived in a time 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, her husband died, and she spent the rest of her life serving God at the temple with fastings and prayers. Simeon, his entire life, 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 in the sense that he could see and hear the word of the Lord. He had that promise given to him that he would see the consolation of Israel, that he would see the Redeemer, that he would see the Vindicator, that he would see the Deliverer.
The point I have in this message today is really only one: 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 an article some years ago that I hadn’t wanted to talk about because I hate war so much, but I read this very interesting article by a sniper in the military, and they are an unusual breed.
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—I’m just glad I’m not a national leader that has to make those decisions. But I admired what this gentleman wrote. Picture this: A sniper has sometimes all this plant life and everything hooked to his body. They will sometimes take several days to crawl from point A to B because none of their movements can be noticed. They do everything physically in their clothing; at times, they’ll even be on an ant hill and be bitten by these ants, and they are so focused on their assignment, they show no pain and make no noticeable movement.
What he said was, «In this place, you are so focused that you notice when a blade of grass is different.» There’s something about focus; there’s something about purpose; there’s something about refining what is going to excite me, refining what I’m going to feed my soul on, and refining my understanding, my conscious awareness of why I am on planet Earth. I get to be a grandpa; I get to be a dad; I love being a husband, all of these things. I get to be with you guys; I love this part of life.
But all of these are expressions of why I’m alive. I am alive to represent Jesus and to bring Him glory. I live for that! Anything that doesn’t fit into that assignment may be good; it may be moral; it 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—spinning twenty plates on a stick, you know 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. One day, in your prayer, the Lord shows up and says, «Before you die, you will see this great Deliverer.»
Why is he alive? For one thing! And it says the Spirit of the Lord moved 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 someone with a great pedigree and great wealth.
He saw an infant—a baby; yes, eternally God. But he saw in the baby the Deliverance of Israel and salvation of Gentiles.
He saw 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; they 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. When you do, you’re constantly filled with encouragement because God is doing all kinds of things—bringing all kinds of babies, yeah, seed, yeah, of the thing you’ve been praying for.
I look at this, and Anna and Simeon both move me profoundly because they recognized the King of Glory was present in an infant that couldn’t do a thing. They saw. This is what we need right now because we’re in the middle of swirling stuff.
We need people that just dial down, «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 these things happen around us that are just indicators of a much bigger Deliverance, a much bigger thing that God is doing. Right now, we need encouragement in our lives, maybe more than any other season of our lives.
And 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 live this far away from the ultimate internal strength of faith, focus, and living with Divine Purpose and not take hold of it.
I’d like to suggest that the Lord is releasing an Anna and Simeon anointing. It’s a Matthew 6 anointing—it’s the eye that has settled on one journey. The reason my whole body is full of life, the reason my entire life is under the visible manifestation of the glory of God is that I have determined I am alive for one thing.
I am alive for one reason. Mary, exhausted from just getting Jesus to sleep, is approached by a young man who thinks to himself, «What this girl needs right now is a drum solo.»
Last one: the husband asked his wife, «Where in the Bible does it say a man’s job is to wash dishes?» She responds, «2 Kings 21:13 says, 'And I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.'» So apparently, it’s biblical.
All right, grab your Bibles if you would and open to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2. We’re going to spend a little bit of time there this morning.
Matthew chapter 2, one of the things that I find a little frustrating in my own life is that I tend to become overly familiar with some scriptures. I’m careful to never have the attitude, «Been there, done that,» but sometimes I find myself with a familiarity that needs correction or adjustment.
Sometimes I’ll read a different translation; sometimes I’ll actually just pick up a different Bible so it’s on a different side of the page or whatever. The point is to shake up that sense of over-familiarity.
If there’s any area that, as Christians, we tend to become overly familiar with, it’s the Christmas story. It’s such a profound story that it, regrettably, gets put into a particular season. We work hard not to do that, but still, we don’t talk about wise men, you know, year-round. Usually, it’s relegated to this season, along with the shepherds and the whole story.
But there’s such a profound understanding of God, of His heart, of His redemptive purpose and plan that is unveiled in these snippets, these stories. God, from the beginning, created us to be co-laborers with Him, to be partners, that there would be a seamless connection between God and His creation, specifically those made in His image.
He designed things for intimacy and closeness. None of the rest of creation was made for His pleasure, for His delight, but people were made with an opportunity to create this seamless connection relationally with Him.
When Jesus became a man, it was to make that possible. When I review the Old Testament, I’ve shared with you several times through the years that there are three primary functions—at least in my limited understanding—of the Old Testament. One, it points to the severity of sin, the absolute tragic thing called sin.
Number two, it’s hopeless for us to try to fix it. There is no self-help program that can address the issue of sin. You can affect certain disciplines in your life, but you can’t change nature—only the blood of Jesus and the Spirit of God can come in and take what is destined for destruction and turn it into something that is destined for life.
So when Jesus came and took on flesh, this story is the story of the ages. It redefines the purpose of planet Earth, the purpose of creation, the purpose for your existence, my existence—all of it was defined, enhanced, embraced, and set on course through this one thing: Jesus taking on flesh.
We’re going to read today out of the Gospel of Matthew about the wise men. There are a lot of amazing descriptions of these wise men in commentaries and various teachers, and they’re all fascinating. I’m amazed by any group, wealthy and the intelligentsia of the day, that would leave their place and travel maybe as long as two years—could have been even three years—to come to a place to worship a child who couldn’t do anything for them.
They came with extraordinary resources. You would never present a gold coin to a king. They came emptying their bank accounts, if you will, to honor and exalt this one who was born a king. This story is an extraordinary act of abandonment to worship.
However many wise men there were, we know there were three kinds of gifts, but we don’t know how many wise men there were. There’s a good chance there was a great number of them, and there’s also a good chance that they had a whole group of people with them—just for safety—when they were traveling with gold and treasures, as they did.
You can easily imagine an entourage of 50 to 100 people who left that land to travel for years to find a child who could do nothing for them. It’s one of the most extraordinary acts of worship in the Bible. I liken it to the woman who breaks the alabaster vial— a year’s worth of income to pour over Jesus.
It was such a profound, selfless act that they were involved in. They weren’t even raised in Hebrew culture; they weren’t raised with this natural expectation of a Messiah.
God spoke a language they could understand. God is not restricted by Hebrew language; He’s not restricted by English or Spanish or whatever. He’s not restricted by any culture or expression. He can touch anybody in any lifestyle through a language they understand.
He did so when He caused a star to appear, and they had this awareness that something significant was coming out of the Middle East. I’ve read accounts of historians; if that makes sense, they said that in the time before Christ, all over the known world, there was this sense of awareness that something amazing was about to happen, and it was going to happen in the Middle East.
It was like, you understand that people can have prophetic gifting and callings on their lives even before they know the Lord. It was something they were born with. So, picture now the prophets of Egypt and Ethiopia and all these places around the world—there was an alertness, an alarm that went off in their hearts as they began to sense something significant was about to happen in the Middle East, and they wrote about it.
Well, this story is that story that all of them became aware of in measure, and then Jesus came in flesh. I want us to read through the story; we’re going to go verse by verse and walk through it. I’ve got 14 minutes left, so we’ll read fast.
Chapter 2 of Matthew, verse 1: «Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship Him.'»
They came to worship a child who could do nothing for them. The purity of abandonment in worship is that there are no strings attached. I give everything because of who you are, not because of how it benefits me.
To worship for how it benefits me is a subtle case of manipulation. It’s the awareness of worth that is the driving point of all true worship — it’s His value. The value of God Himself is the great gift to humanity, which is Jesus.
«Where is he who was born king?» He didn’t work his way into it; the Eternal Son of God was born king of the Jews. «We’ve come to worship him.» When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, yes, he was. Can we say jealous? Can we say fearful? He was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Whoever gets the might gets to shape the culture, and Herod’s fear spread to an entire city. They came to Bethlehem, verse 4. When he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, «In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.» Okay, stop right there. Here’s Herod gathering the religious leaders. Let me fast forward: who is the group most known for not recognizing Jesus when he came? The scribes and Pharisees! Who does Herod gather? The scribes and the religious leaders!
He asks them the question, which they answered: «Where is the Christ to be born?» In Bethlehem. In other words, they had intellectual knowledge, they had academic knowledge, but that knowledge did not lead them to surrender.
All insight, all revelation, all encounters with truth are meant to lead us into abandonment to His grace. That’s the purpose; that’s the invitation for ongoing encounter that transforms us. It’s not just being able to recite doctrinal truths; it’s not just being able to say, «Well, he’s going to be born in Bethlehem; he’s going to do this; he’s going to accomplish that.»
It’s about what do you know that has brought you to surrender? What do you know that has brought you to abandonment to who He is? That was the question they failed. The people most known for not knowing who He was when He showed up were the very people that counseled Herod, saying, «He’ll be born in Bethlehem of Judea.»
It’s crazy when you contrast that with the people that recognized who Jesus was. It even gets more bizarre. Zius, the tax collector, knew who Jesus was. Blind Bartimaeus was at the back of the crowd, yelling and creating a scene: «Son of David, have mercy on me!» He knew who He was.
The prostitute knew who He was, the thieves, the degenerates of the hour knew who Jesus was when they saw Him. The demonized cried out, «We know who you are!»
So all these people recognized Jesus. I’d like to suggest that because they lived with an awareness of need—a realization of personal need to recognize what God’s brought in front of you—sometimes we become so safe and secure in our own breakthroughs and our history of breakthroughs that we don’t recognize our ongoing areas of need.
Because of that, we don’t recognize when Jesus shows up in a different way, if you will. I know that can be misconstrued, but just work with me. Jesus will sometimes be working in our lives in a different way that we’re not accustomed to and not living with an awareness of need.
I don’t mean self-condemnation or depression or discouragement; I mean just the realization—listen, it’s the reason we are to pray, «Lead us not into temptation.» It’s not that God could or would ever lead us into temptation; the scripture teaches that He wouldn’t.
But living with an awareness of my ability to fail is what helps me succeed. Wow! It’s in that place of honest humility that dependency on Him comes; we never grow out of our need for grace.
The scripture teaches us that in the ages to come, there’s going to be continuous ongoing revelation of grace. We will never exhaust our need for the grace of God. I want to bless and welcome all of our online community as well. It’s such an encouragement to me to realize how many thousands of believers join us week after week from all over the world. We bless you. We love you in the name of the Lord.
I want to address a couple of things in communion today. At Christmas time, we rightfully celebrate the birth of Christ. I was just thinking during worship time today: we need to pull up some of these songs in July. I mean, they’re gospel; they’re just gospel!
Let’s just bring up «Joy to the World» as an all-year-long song. Anyway, don’t be surprised next July; maybe even June!
But we celebrate rightfully the beauty and wonder of the virgin birth of Christ. What you hold in your hands is why He came. I take this wafer—whether I’m here with you or at home—I buy these by the box and take communion at home.
I like to take this wafer; I like to break it; I like to hear the sound of it breaking because it reminds me He became broken so that I could be whole. He became empty so I could be filled.
He was rejected so I could be accepted. He was despised so I could be celebrated. He became sin so that I could become His righteousness. He bore affliction so that I could be healed. He went low so I could be exalted.
It’s the truth! Yes, He came to take our place in death so we could take the place He rightfully deserved in life. It’s called salvation. No one can earn it, but you can receive it; it’s a gift.
This broken body… I was once again reminded in Corinthians, when Paul talks about what he received from the Lord, he received a revelation from God of the purpose for this. It’s very profound, so read it on your own. But there’s one phrase I want to take: «On the night in which He was betrayed…»
When He sat down with the guys and shared the bread as His broken body—and the wine as His blood—when He shared that in this communal setting, it was the night He was betrayed.
Interestingly, right before that, He washed all of their feet. So we have Judas’s feet getting washed, and then at the communion table, He’s there with Judas, the betrayer.
A quote I read last week that really touched me: «Our Christianity is not proven by our love for Jesus; it’s proven by our love for Judas.»
We live in a highly offensive culture and society, where you will always be applauded for helping the victim, as we must. But you will often be despised if you help the victimizer.
And yet, this gospel is just that: everybody in this room has been abused, lied to, treated unfairly, but also, everybody in this room has done something wrong. Maybe just simple verbal stuff—you’ve also, on some measure, been the victimizer; losing temper, becoming angry, whatever it might be.
The point is we are here together because He loves both the victims and the victimizers. Judas betrayed Jesus, but so did the other eleven. Yes, they did! And Jesus washed all of their feet knowing what was about to happen.
Yeah, He broke the bread and shared with them knowing what was about to happen. So as we partake of this today, we’re going to do so seeking for what was announced at the birth of Christ: «Glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace, good will toward men.»
It’s the reason for this; it’s the reason. Glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace! What happens there is supposed to affect what happens here.
When I engage with what’s happening there, I become the most effective to bring that reality here. Yes, peace!
One last comment, and then we’ll share in the bread and the body together. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul talks about the separation of Jew and Gentile. I think it illustrates actually the greatest division in all of human history—the Jews and the Gentiles; those who are qualified for God and those who are not; the haves and the have-nots. You can fill out your list—it’s these two.
It says in scripture that Jesus bore in His flesh, when He was crucified and when He died, He bore in His flesh the wall that divided them. Just think with me for a moment: There is a legal separation between the two, and He took that entire wall that separates the two and allowed that wall to rest on His body in His death so that He could destroy its power.
That means there is no division on the planet that can withstand the wonder and the beauty of the gospel. Yes! Amen!
None! The greatest was defeated; everything else is cake from there. Yes!
All right, why don’t you stand? Oftentimes, when we partake of the broken body of Jesus, I emphasize the scripture, «By His stripes, His torn flesh, His body…»
What we hold in our hand… By His stripes, we are healed. I believe that with all my heart. There is something we are to proclaim, and I believe the Lord’s going to enable us to taste of divine health.
In part, it’s connected to this beautiful celebration of the Lord’s Supper. But today, what I want you to do primarily is take 30 seconds or so and pray for some family member, some neighbor, work person, or some situation that you know of where there’s division and conflict.
I want you to make a decree that what Jesus has accomplished is more than enough to heal that separation, to destroy the spirit of that division. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, it’s a commandment to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
It does not say create it, because you can’t create it: He already created it; you and I can only mess it up. He says preserve it.
So I want you to take 30 seconds and just pray for someone. It may be a Judas in your life. Peter also denied Jesus three times; Judas just did it once—it was just terminal. True!
Take a moment and pray for someone that needs reconciliation and healing, and do it in light of the broken body of Jesus.
Thank you, yes, Lord! We confess your word: Glory to God in the highest! Be exalted in the highest places! High praises! High praises! And on Earth, peace! Good will toward men! We just declare that no separation, no division is greater than the power of the gospel.
So we declare peace over our family lines, in Jesus' name. Let’s receive the broken body together.
Take the cup; open it. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t use a handheld mic—I couldn’t possibly do that. It’s like I would get it all over me; I just know I would.
I stand before my family photo day after day; we have several of our whole family, but one is the newest. I like to stand in front and pray for each family member, each family group, and I lightly touch—I’m hoping I don’t get the photo too oily where I have to replace it.
But anyway, I put my hands to touch each one, and what I pray is I declare this first of all over my family, «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.»
I want you to say that with me: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.» Just close your eyes and hold the cup before the Lord because you’re holding out the legal basis for that decree.
Let’s say it again together: «As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.»
And then I pray—I pray for each one by name. We don’t have time for you to cover your entire family line, but you can cover some part of your family in just a moment.
What I pray is three very specific things, day after day after day. Number one: «God, we will serve you in purity.» Holiness is important; we will walk in purity. Number two: «We will do so with passion; we’re going to be all in. Everything about us is in this devotion to you.»
And then thirdly: «We’re going to do so with power; we refuse to do this gospel apart from power. We’re not just trying to be in form; we want to bring a message that transforms lives.»
I want you to take another 30 seconds and pray for some members of your family, just by name, before the Lord.
Yes! As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!
Father, we pray for our families. We stand before you with joy praying for our families, those who are walking with you, those who are not. We just declare: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
We acknowledge that the blood of Jesus is enough to cover the worst sins in any of our households. Yes, Lord!
I pray right now that this Christmas season into the new year would be a season of great visitation. It has been announced in our offering reading today: Open heavens! Open heavens! Visitations! Encounters! Angelic visitations!
We pray these things over our family for the honor of the name Jesus. Let’s take and receive the blood together. Thank you, Lord!