Bill Johnson - Hearing God's Voice and Courage Are Connected to the Awe of God
Glad you showed up. We’ve had such a wonderful time. John Carol just absolutely wrecked us with blessings these last few days. It’s been so good—thanks, John! I can’t believe he’s here tonight. I told him that if I knew he was going to come, I would have put him to work. You know? Yeah, let’s get going. I’ve got a bit of ground to cover tonight. Last week, I think I talked to you for about 10 minutes, and we just prayed for people, but tonight I think we’ll do a little bit more. So go to Matthew 16, and we’ll start there. I’m going to bounce you around a bit because I’ve got a theme that I want to try to cover well before we go into any kind of ministry time.
So, Matthew 16, we’re starting with a strange passage—strange to me, anyway. I want to talk to you tonight about the works of God. The Bible says that He made His works to be remembered. In other words, a miracle and your brain fit together. Well, He made works to be remembered; He designed them to attach to your thought life. It’s not a round peg in a square hole; it’s a perfect match. In the same way, you and I were designed to recognize the presence of God, having our senses trained to discern good and evil. The manifest presence of the Lord is recognizable by the physical body’s senses being trained to recognize Him. The psalmist said, «My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.» So that means, then, that it’s possible to be immersed in the glory long enough that you actually restore your natural appetite for the presence of God.
There are many things that you and I were designed for that we’ve not perhaps considered before or considered very often, but you were designed to recognize the presence of God. You were designed to recognize the works of God and to be able to contain them, to remember them. One of the things that David and the writers of the Psalms would do is, in the night watch, they would meditate on the works of God. I never meditate on God’s works to understand them; I only meditate on them to be impressed by them, to be impacted by them. I want them to leave a mark. I don’t expect to comprehend anything that has to do with an infinite God, but I do expect to be on a collision course with who He is that is revealed in His wonders. Every miracle is a package that, when opened, reveals the nature of God, and there are layers to that package, to that gift that gets opened. There is the testimony of what God has done. The Bible says Israel was acquainted with the acts of God—those are His works—but Moses was acquainted with His ways. The works of God point to the nature of God, and every time there’s a revelation of God through a miracle, there’s always an invitation for encounter because He’s longing to draw us into relationship, and we have legal access to Him in the way He has revealed Himself.
If there’s, tonight, a miracle of salvation, a miracle of people’s bodies renewed, marriages—all the stuff—whenever the Lord reveals Himself through a work, there’s an invitation to come and know Him in that way. He never reveals Himself just so that we get smarter. He’s not intensely burdened for our intellect; He is intensely burdened for our transformation, and that is done by exposure to the glory of God revealed in His works. Are you all right? You alive? Because I’m going to go fast, and you have to go fast with me! If you’re sleeping, you will wake up in Neverland and not know where we are!
So, all right, the works of the Lord reveal His nature. Every time there’s a testimony, there’s actually the unpacking of a part of His nature, and there is the privilege of every believer to behold those things—not trying to dissect them so that we can articulate and speak to others about Him, as much as that word, that wonder, is to impact us to where we walk away having been marked by the nature of God.
There’s a strange passage here. Let’s just get going in this. Matthew 16 says here, verse 1, «The Pharisees and Sadducees came testing Him, asking that He would show them a sign from Heaven.» This is weird that they would ask to see a sign because He’s been doing miracles, signs, and wonders the whole time. So, just keep in mind, I hear people speak against miracles because of verses like this, as Jesus brings correction to scribes and Pharisees that were asking for a sign. The context is that there were miracles all around them; they wanted God to do something that they requested. In other words, do an entertaining sign—a sign in the heavens, a sign in the skies—do something that impresses us, not just healing people and delivering people and all that stuff. Does that make sense to you? They are asking for something at their request so that God would perform for them.
Verse 2: He answered and said to them, «When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.» This is the phrase I want you to look at: «Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.» In Mark 8, Jesus asks a series of questions of the disciples after He challenged them about becoming aware of the kingdom of God that is unseen and invisible. So He asks them three questions in one particular verse: «Can’t you see? Can’t you hear? Can’t you remember?» Seeing and hearing are two manifestations of the same gift, in the same way that light waves and sound waves are the same; they’re just different dimensions of the same thing. In the same way, seeing and hearing are two manifestations of the same gift. Here, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because they can look outside and tell you what the weather will be, but they don’t recognize the unseen spiritual climate of the world they live in.
I can understand Him rebuking them; I can understand Him saying they lack spiritual giftings. What’s hard to understand is why He would call them hypocrites because He can only call them hypocrites if they had the capacity to do so and claimed to be discerning. Only then can He call them hypocrites. Are you following me? Otherwise, He can correct them for living in delusion; He can correct them for boasting in a gift that they do not have. But in this particular case, He actually calls them hypocrites because they can discern natural things but not spiritual.
Are you making the connection with me? It would be easy, in my understanding, for Him to rebuke them because maybe they have a capacity for natural things and they’ve not asked for a spiritual gift, but He doesn’t. He doesn’t correct them for that. He corrects them because they are sitting there with a capacity that God gave them, but it is unused, and they claim to be discerning. This tells me then that every person has a God-given ability for seeing and for hearing.
Now, I do believe that there are those who have unusual gifts. We have people in the church family here that are seers—they literally see with their natural eye into the unseen realm. There’s an unusual gift there. But what I want to do tonight is give you access, through Kingdom principles, to hearing and seeing. When Jesus asked the question, He says, «Can you see?» and I’m sure the disciples are sitting there thinking, «Apparently not.» «Can you hear?» «Yeah, probably not.» But here He gets them on the last one—"Can you remember?» The first two I would associate with a spiritual gift; the last one I associate with a spiritual discipline. «Can you see?» «Not so good.» «Can you hear?» «Not really.» «Can you remember?» «Actually, I can if I want to.» We all remember things; it’s what we remember that determines how we live.
The concept of remembering the activities of God, the divine interventions of God, the miracles of God is such a significant part of the life of a believer that it was in the three primary commands given to the nation of Israel for how to sustain life. Let me use New Testament terminology in Kingdom lifestyle: He said, «Keep the commandments, keep the statutes, keep the testimonies.» The testimony, the meditating on the embracing of the miracles that we don’t understand, but they move us to wonder. Every one of us should be deeply concerned about our life the moment we move into a season where we’ve lost the awe and the wonder.
Those who understand their Christian life are serving a God whose size we often time fashion a God that we can comprehend, understand, and have some measure of control over, and He’s looking to impress us—not as an entertainer but as a father who is wooing us into greater significance. This whole concept of being exposed to wonders is to move us into awe, and it is the awe of God that keeps us in that tender, childlike place where we are ready to admit we don’t understand what’s going on, but we’re in the middle of His hand and we trust Him completely.
We are in a season where things are happening that we can’t take credit for. They’re glorious. They’re wonderful. They are just because He’s good. Yes, I believed, yes, I proclaimed, yes, I did everything He told me to do, but at the end of the day, it’s really entirely by His grace. This is the one Kingdom where you get rewarded for what He does through you.
And so here we have this statute or this way of life. Imagine God wanting to distill how you live in a way that is profoundly successful and impactful. He reduces it to these three statements, which you’ll find in Deuteronomy 4 and Deuteronomy 6. He says to keep the commandments, do what He says, keep the statutes, remember the principles that life is formed by, and keep the testimony. In other words, keep before you the ongoing, overwhelming works of God so that you maintain a sense of awe. Because it’s out of that sense of awe that thankfulness is easy, worship is normal, and a childlike response is as natural as can be. It’s our nature. It’s when we start moving into a gospel that we can comprehend and control that we lose the awe. Those of you who are part of the family here would know this, but since we have so many guests with us, I want to make sure you know this. I believe we’re to pursue understanding, but there’s a moment between exposure to wonder and the moment you come into understanding. In that season in between, there is a realm of trust where we trust Him in mystery. In that season, true faith is developed because we are confident in His goodness, confident in His covenant, and confident in His promise to us.
So I want you to go to Psalm 78, and we’re going to look at a number of verses in this psalm. Psalm 78 starts towards the beginning, where it says in verse two, «I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.» How many of you want God to talk to you? I mean, really? And you’re fine with dark sayings? Honestly, what it means is that you’re standing in front of a burning bush and you’re clueless as to why it’s not being consumed. It’s these exposures to things that don’t make any sense. «I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord.» What are the praises of the Lord? Those are boasting praise—boasting in the nature revealed in the work. Praise is declaring the nature of God that is revealed through the work, the signs, and the wonders. Do you see the connection?
Alright, so it says we’re going to tell the generation to come about the praises of the Lord and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. In verse five, He established a testimony in Jacob, appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to make known to their children, that the generation to come might know them—the children who would be born—that they may arise and declare them to their children. Verse seven indicates that they may set their hope in God. Alright, I’m going to make you work. Verse four says we’re going to tell a generation to come about the praise of God. What are the praises? It’s the nature of God revealed in the signs and wonders. Alright, then He goes on and says we’re going to make them known to their children, and the reason we’re going to make them known to the children in verse seven is that they would set their hope on God.
Alright, now work with me here. Why does the enemy work so hard to distract us from the record of what God has done? Number one, to discourage you, but number two, so he can steal a generation! Come on, this is no small matter. This isn’t like wanting to keep myself thinking positively for the next situation that I’m facing. No, there’s a generation at stake! Wow! He says, «Here is the tool: stay impressed by the awe of God—be infatuated with His nature revealed in His wonders. Speak of them, talk about them, keep them always in conversation.» Why? Because the next generation will be positioned to set their hope in God. The Lord has given us very specific ways to live, and they have a lot more to do than just keeping us encouraged.
Now, I’ve taught this many times through the years. I hope you remember that it’s profoundly important to keep before our eyes what God is doing, what He has done, and not what He hasn’t done. Alright, that distinction matters. But here’s what it costs us if we don’t do it. That lifestyle actually equips us with grace—a reward where Heaven starts working with our words as we study, declare, and meditate on His nature revealed in His miracles. Heaven releases something into the hearts of people that causes them to want to know Him. It’s like a virus carried in a message, and as we rehearse the message and keep it a normal part of conversation, I don’t mean boasting in ourselves or in our faith, but in the absolute raw miraculous power of God. It may be in healing, or it may be in deliverance. We saw some extraordinary miracles last Sunday night. I was so impacted by God’s grace again, healing people, keeping that testimony before us. We see the wonders of God, and we choose to stay impacted by the awe of the nature of God.
But something happens to a person who stays impacted by the nature of God. Number one, in this passage, they have the tools to set a generation on a course to walk with God. But number two, our passion for the Lord, through His gracious interventions in our lives, causes people around us to have a passion for God. Now think about this: I would assume everyone in this room would want the legacy of your life to be that, when you’re dead and gone, people can say, «Because of their influence in my life, I have given myself to love God, to know Him, and to make Him known.» How many of you would say that’s what you want your legacy to be?
In this particular passage, it says Joshua had that effect on a whole nation. The elders that worked with Joshua had that same effect on a whole nation. But what distinguished them from prior leaders and following leaders? This group of people was exposed to the supernatural interventions of God that they could not comprehend. Somehow, being exposed to the invasions of God into things they couldn’t explain and couldn’t control changed their spiritual DNA, so they became contagious in the awe and wonder of an Almighty God—enough that they actually touched the appetite of an entire nation. This is the awe of the wonder of God.
Back to Psalm 78—that was Joshua 24:31 if you’re interested. Okay, verse seven states that they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God. Now go down to verse nine. It says, «The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.» They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law. They forgot His works and His wonders which He had shown them.
Alright, here’s the picture: we have some of the children of Israel. They’re trained for battle; they’ve got all the equipment. But when they approached war, they became fearful and ran away. Now keep in mind that the Lord only leads into battles you’re equipped to win. I personally believe everybody in this room facing the biggest problem right now has already been equipped with the tools within the last 12 months, but anxiety and fear make us unaware of the tools that have already been imparted to us. That’s why fighting for and from peace is vital for us.
So what does the scripture say? The children of Israel were armed and ready for battle, but they turned back in the day of battle because they didn’t keep the law of God. It says they forgot the works of God. If you read this verse backwards—not like a country western song—but if you start from the last verse and work up, you actually get how and why they turned back on the day of battle. It says they forgot His wonders and His works. Because of that, they refused to walk in His law; because of that, they turned back on the day of battle. See, when you lose the awe of God, you lose the courage for radical obedience. When you lose the courage for radical obedience, you don’t have confidence in conflict. When we forget the wonders, we lose the awe. We lose the wonder of God.
Now I watch it all the time, and I don’t mean this negatively; it is merely observation. I see it all the time: people are wowed by the awe and the wonder, and then they become accustomed to the wonder. Whenever you become accustomed to the wonder, you’re much more inclined to critique the people around you. That was free, totally free. I’m not going to charge you for that at all. It’s completely true. When you lose the wonder, you start assessing and critiquing your environment. Critiquing brings criticism. When I lose the awe of God, I’m much more inclined to critique my surroundings and become more easily offended by what doesn’t go my way. Now, of course, I would never say it that way; I would twist it as, «What doesn’t go the way God wants.» If I can hide my offense in the will of God, I justify it. That’s good; though at least 90% of all offenses are very logical, which is why they’ve been permitted to stay, as there’s reasoning developed outside of the wonder.
So when I lose the wonder, I lose the courage for radical obedience. When I lose the courage for radical obedience, I become faint-hearted in conflict. I’m sure this makes sense to you. A person who’s living in compromise is much more nervous about getting into spiritual battles. Moving on, we transition through verses 22 down to 31, which talk about God’s dealings with them—how He delivered them, how He disciplined them. In verse 32 it says, «In spite of this, they still sinned and did not believe in His wondrous works.»
Here’s one that really bothers me; I’m sorry I missed a couple verses. Now let me move on. Go down to verse 40. «How often they provoked Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert.» Here’s the verse that really bothers me: «Yes, again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.»
Alright, work with me here. They tempted God. How? They limited Him. They tempted God because they put a cap on what He was either capable or willing to do. They tempted God because they lost sight of the decree that nothing is impossible with God. The scripture says God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap. It is mockery to think you could obey God and not receive a reward. It is tempting God to put a cap on what He would be willing to do, through and for you. All of this that I’m describing is impossible for us to create in ourselves, but it’s the natural byproduct of staying in awe.
Alright, verse 41 again: «Yes, again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.» In verse 42: «This is how they did it: they did not remember His power the day when He redeemed them from the enemy, when He worked His signs in Egypt, His wonders in the field of Zoan.» How did they limit God? They forgot their own history. What moved them into a place to put a cap on what they could expect from God? What moved them into a place where they had an understanding of how far God would go to do something for them and how far He wouldn’t go? They forgot their own personal history of His supernatural interventions.
Do you understand how great the miracle of your salvation is? The greatest miracle you’ve ever seen is your own conversion. Fact. I’ll drink to that one. So they tempted God when? When they forgot the works of God.
Now go with me to John 10. Those of you who actually have pages, make noise with them so it sounds like people have Bibles. I’m fine with the electronic versions, but you know it’s a little depressing when nobody does anything. You know I threatened years ago that I’m going to have someone in here who makes apps that, when you open your Bible, it makes noises of turning pages on your iPad so that I can tell something’s happening.
John 10. Now, this is going to be a surprising perspective that Jesus had on miracles, signs, and wonders. Alright, verse 37: «If I do not do the works of the Father, do not believe Me.» Okay, just stop right there. If I do not do the works of the Father, do not believe Me. How big of a statement is that? Well, just think with me. He is actually giving people permission not to believe He is who He is if He doesn’t do the works of the Father. What are the works of the Father? The best way to study that is to study the Gospel of John, because that’s the book where the statement is made, «And greater works than these shall you do because I go to the Father.»
So this theme of works and greater works is miracles. He says, «If I do not do the works of the Father, don’t believe Me.» That’s fascinating! We’ve had all the prophets speak of Him, so there is one witness revealing who He is. Nature itself, the stars in the sky, the angelic realm, the spirit realm testify to who He is. The prophets, nature, the angelic realm—all spoke to identify who Jesus was for us. Jesus stands here before humanity and says, «Listen, you don’t have to believe the prophets. You can ignore nature and you can ignore the angelic realm. If I’m not doing the works of the Father…»
When the Father declared over Jesus, «My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,» that was an act that a father would do when he introduces his son to the community. And he’d bring his son into the community. Let’s say they were carpenters. When he came to the community, he would announce, «This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.» In that announcement, he was telling the entire community, «From this point on, when you do business with my son, you are doing business with me.» So it’s the concept of inheriting the family business. The works of the Father are the family business, and He says, «You don’t have to believe the prophets, the angels; you don’t have to believe any of it. If I’m not carrying on the family business, how important are the works?»
Glad you asked. Verse 38: «But if I do the works, though you do not believe Me, believe the works.» Oh boy. Though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.
How many of you understand He’s not saying you don’t have to believe in Me? He’s just saying, «Listen, if you’re struggling with Me, look at the blind that have been healed.» Because signs point to something greater than themselves, and the signs, in the same way the exit sign over here points to an exit, isn’t just a sign you crawl through. The sign is real—but it points to something greater than itself. So He’s saying, «Listen, if you have a hard time swallowing Me, look at the miracles. Believe them.» Why? Because they’ll lead you to Me.
And what was His concern? He came to reveal the Father, and He says, «If I don’t do the works of the Father, don’t believe Me.» What would it be like to have the church stand up before the world and say, «If we don’t do the works of the Father, you don’t have to believe our message»?
When Jesus—I’m going to go back to where I started and wrap it up with this—when Jesus asks the question in Mark 8, He says, «Can you see? Can you hear? Can you remember?» As I stated, the first two are connected to a spiritual gift— a capacity given to every person to see and to hear. The last one is a spiritual discipline. Why does He add that? I have found that one way to reactivate your ability to hear and to see is to remember.
If you study this all through Psalm 78, it’s a classic example of what happens to a people who meditate on the works of God and those who don’t. Something takes place in the heart of a nation when they are exposed to leaders who’ve been exposed to the supernatural interventions of God. Something happens to their DNA, their own capacity for hearing God, for seeing God, for obeying God, for living with risk. I’ve watched it through the years. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen as much anymore, but it used to be that I would often go to a church or a group of believers somewhere, and they would be very lethargic and complacent. Thankfully, almost every place I go now, they are burning. But it used to be you’d walk into the room and it felt like they were looking at you saying, «Impress me, do something to wow me.»
Whenever I was in that challenging moment, I wouldn’t try to teach them into believing. I would either start with the miracles or testimonies—whatever felt like permission from the Lord to do so. I watched it year after year after year. The people that were dead became lit with fire in their eyes, and they started— I remember one gentleman, a wonderful man. I don’t want to put complacency on him, but he was a pastor who had been in a motorcycle accident. He lost 2 inches of bone in his femur. When he sat down, his leg was actually 2 inches back from the other one. He came up just to talk. He said, «You know, I’m missing two inches of bone in my leg,» just as a matter of fact. He stated, «It never even occurred to me to have this prayed for.» He wasn’t even asking for prayer; he was just saying, «Until tonight, I never thought this would be a possibility.»
I said, «Well, sit down,» and I told him, «Let’s go for it.» I said, «I want you to watch.» As I commanded the bone to grow, it just started growing. I said, «Do you see that?» He stared at it and wouldn’t answer me. It grew a little more. I said again, «Do you see that?» He wouldn’t answer me. Finally, it was all the way out, and I asked again, «Did you see that?» He very seriously said, «I don’t believe what I just saw!» It was a refreshingly honest statement; he wasn’t resisting; he just had no understanding. He didn’t have a slot to put it in.
He stood up, and it was like trying out a new pair of shoes. They fit well. Then he remembered, «Oh, if I sit down, I can really test it because the leg will be back 2 inches.» He sat down, and they were perfectly even! He looked at his daughter, about 16 years old, and said, «I just got healed!» It was just this bewildering moment: «I just got healed!» We had been praying for people for a long time that night, and he came back to me about an hour later, 45 minutes or so later, and said, «I found the reason why I’m alive!»
Come on: one hour earlier, it had never crossed his mind! There was a cap limiting the ceiling on what God might be willing to do— it had never crossed his mind. One hour later, «I found the reason why I’m alive!»
How many of you feel—and I do hope for some response in this—how many of you feel that you hear from the Lord fairly well? How many of you feel that you see fairly well? How many of you don’t? Now, some of you aren’t going to raise your hand no matter what I ask you; I can see that. I’m waiting for all the above or all the below or another option. Yeah, we need more options.
It’s the craziest thing, but the discipline to remember activates a pre-existing gift to hear and see. God has put it within the reach of every person to be a hearer and a seer. It just means it’s time to consider the One that I cannot capture in thought. I can just be impacted by Him. I cannot contain Him, but I can certainly look upon Him. I can consider Him. I can be in wonder and awe over His kindness, His goodness.
I think that’s at least partly the reason why Jesus at one point said, «Father, I thank You that You did not reveal this to the wise and the learned, but instead You revealed it to babes, to children.» What is He saying? He’s saying there’s a level and measure of revelation that can only come to children. There’s a level of revelation you won’t get because you’re smart—you can only get it when you’ve remained in awe.
So Lord, we invite You to expand that part of our lives—the determination to remember and ponder. The willingness to wake up in the night to consider things we’ve never thought of before just because You’ve been so good—so good, so beyond anything we would have the intelligence to ask for; we wouldn’t have the faith to fight for, but yet You manifest Yourself so clearly and so wonderfully through Your works.
I wonder how He would reveal Himself to and through a people that actually gave Him all the credit, all the glory, all the praise. He’s made promises to us that are just crazy extreme! They are so extreme they hurt my head! And I don’t think He was teasing. I don’t think He was saying, «Oh, in heaven, I’ll handle this for you.» I think He’s trying to woo us into something that’s available in our day. He’s wooing us; He impresses us with His nature, with His wonders, hoping to anchor our affections into a world we cannot see. Because when I become anchored in a world I cannot see, I become entrusted with the ability to distribute the reality of that world into a world I can see.
So why don’t you stand up, and we’re going to take a moment to pray for each other. Are you alive? Yes, you’re alive. Good.
One of the questions that we are asked a lot, I don’t doubt as much as John and Carol and their team in Toronto, is, «How do you sustain a move of God?» To me, it’s one of the things we are all interested in. I don’t want to live out the rest of my days pondering, «What was I?» I want to always be moving from glory to glory, thinking about what yet could happen, what He has promised.
Anytime the Lord’s given you a promise, it’s only because He’s gone into your tomorrow and brought you a promise that you’ll need to get to where He sees you. He equips you with promise because that’s what enables you to get from where you are to where He sees you. The whole kingdom lifestyle is the promised land—a land of promise. Promise has everything to do with who we are.
So whenever that cap comes, we start actually cutting off our own future. The moment I stop dreaming, I start dying. I don’t know; we need to write a song about the wonder. I know there are some, we should probably learn those first, but I’m serious: if we can capture this in lyrical form, it’ll give us the tools. You know how songs stick in your head? You can’t get rid of them? It’s a bummer when it’s a horrible song too. Some dumb song you can’t get out of your head! Charles Wesley would take John Wesley’s theology and put it into music so that the concepts would be captured; it would shape the culture.
Do you know there are people who sing lyrics—Kingdom lyrics—that they don’t believe in theologically? It’s Jehovah sneaky getting concepts past their reasoning into their heart. I’m sorry, I’m just thinking out loud about that.
Alright, Father, I ask that You would expose, in Your grace, life-giving ways. Expose where there are limits and caps where we have restricted or restrained Your activity in our lives—where we have sentenced ourselves to lack because we’ve limited You. Lord, we renounce and repent, turn from that, and we ask You, Lord God, to come and restore in our hearts the wonder—the awe, the childlike awe of our own salvation, the incredible miracle that we are actually different from the inside out. You actually changed our nature.
There are some in the room that have fallen to— I don’t mean an anxious moment but almost a season of anxiety, and it’s caused you to lose track of the tools God’s put in your life. If that’s you, put a hand up because we’re going to pray for you. We’re going to pray for the manifestation of peace.
Alright, I see hands up around you. That’s your assignment! I want you to lay hands up and release and minister peace to these people because what we want is for them to rediscover all that God has already conditioned and prepared them for. So pray for them this way; I want to hear you pray: overwhelm them with peace. Those of you that have embraced anxiety or fear or any of that stuff—everything we do is either out of fear or love—and if you’ve embraced fear, even intentionally, renounce it, repent, confess it, and turn from it. Renounce a partnership with fear.
Thank You, Lord!
Yeah! Now, Jesus actually breathed on His disciples and said, «Receive the Holy Spirit.» When He did, He said, «Peace to you.» So I want you just literally to release peace—to say, «Peace to you; I have it to give; I’m giving it to you now.» Let there be a settling in the hearts of all the anxious moments, the anxious issues. Thank You, Lord, wonderful Jesus!
Okay, all of you that are continuing to receive prayer, keep praying, but you go ahead and sit down if you would quickly. Just give me a couple minutes for this, and we’ll try to move into this quickly. Alright, there’s someone who’s torn ligaments and tendons in the top part of the right ankle. I think it happened some time ago. There’s injury to the right ankle—an injury that you’ve never fully recovered from. Is there anybody else?
For which one of you is the year 1972 important? Is there anyone for whom the year 1972 is significant? Raise your hand if that connects for you.
Okay, I’m trying to find where the ankle injury and 1972 connects. Who is that? Is that you?
I’m sorry, 71 is close, but 72?
Yeah, 72, you. The ankle—the right ankle. Was there a tearing of—did it happen in 1972?
It happened in 1972.
Okay, step in now because you should be healed! Move it around—do what you couldn’t do! Just do something to challenge it to check it out! Really good! Test it out! How is it? Get a mic over here; let’s find out what’s happening here.
Can all the others that had the ankle injury stand up? Because the anointing for this miracle is being released right now as he’s stepping into his testimony, into his healing!
Alright, so what’s happening?
I’ve never been able to put pressure on the side of it, like I can move stuff now.
Wow, just rear it up!
Okay, I’m able to put pressure on it like this, and you’ve never been able to do that in years!
Haven’t been able to do that in years!
We bless you, Lord!
Alright, is that amazing?
Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord! That’s incredible! People healed since 1972!
Okay, we have another one here; we haven’t prayed for anyone yet, so don’t get discouraged if it hasn’t happened to you yet; we haven’t prayed yet! All that happened was an atmosphere—a pregnant atmosphere of miracles was created by one story!
Wow, very simple story: «I’ve not been able to stand on this side of my ankle in years because of that injury that happened in 1972.»
So in the room here is the miracle-working presence of Jesus that rides on stories. It’s the importance of remembering the works of God.
Alright, now here’s what I want you to do: there’s somebody who has a problem in the abdominal area, under the rib cage. It’s actually in the stomach area; it’s right there. I don’t know the problem; I don’t understand it, but it’s right there! Who is that?
Okay, stand up if that’s you! Alright! Now all of the ankles and hips—don’t sit down unless you physically can’t stand.
Alright, ankles and hips, just remain standing! Who has the abdominal thing that is right over here?
Okay, I think there’s a few that your hands up.
Alright, yeah, put your own hand on it right now because the Lord will just start releasing the healing grace.
Is there anyone who has a tumor specifically on the right side of the abdominal area? Is there anyone with a tumor in that area? Is that you?
Alright, I believe tonight is your night! I really do! I believe tonight is your night!
We thank You for this, Lord!
Yeah, we thank You for this, Lord! There’s someone who has an injury, and you just bask in that grace.
There’s someone who has an injury to the right arm, specifically the right forearm. I cannot pinpoint it because the whole thing is weak. The whole right forearm is weak because of some sort of injury. It’s not a sharp pain; it’s just it doesn’t work right. Who is that? Just put your hand up real quick. Is that you? Stand up!
Yeah, as soon as you hear something that’s yours, just stand up to grab it!
Alright, now all here’s what we’re going to do: there’s someone here who has a cartilage issue— I don’t know all the right terms, but let’s put it inside the left knee.
Is that you?
Alright, if that’s you, just stand up because this is very significant!
We also have someone here who has an issue in the right hip, and it’s around the tissue up and above the right hip joint. Is that you?
Okay, there’s a healing grace for that being released right now!
All together, we thank You for this, Lord!
Do you guys have any words of knowledge at all? Any anything to call out here?
Okay, here’s what I want you to do: I want you to stand by one of these that are either in the aisles or where they are! Is there anyone here with cancer? Put a hand up! We always like to go for cancer!
I don’t always remember, but I try to! Is there anyone here with cancer? If there isn’t, that’s wonderful, but bring them please!
Alright, right down here!
Alright, how is your deal from the bike accident that happened in 1979?
So I went to the doctor, and he confirmed that I am healed!
Come on! Wow!
And that’s awesome!
See, you also said during that time that somebody had bladder problems?
That’s taken care of!
I had been suffering with that for four months, and I have absolutely no symptoms at all.
We thank you for that, Lord Jesus!
When you asked me how my pain was and I said my ear was hurting, remember?
And you kind of looked at me like, «What?» Well, all that’s gone too! The ear issue is healed!
Alright, thank you! I went jogging for the first time since high school! I used to be in cross country, and I can jog now! And I’m wearing high heels that I haven’t worn in years!
Well, the most important thing is you can wear the high heels!
So we rejoice!
Isn’t that amazing?
Alright, so here’s what we’re going to do here: let’s be very specific. Anyone who’s ever been injured in a bicycle accident and you still have lingering effects, stand up! In fact, let’s just broaden it—motorcycle or bicycle, two-wheel!
Alright, if that’s you, stand up!
We have several. Also, a back injury specifically—the miracle of healing for her was an injury to the spine.
If that’s you, stand up!
Alright church family, you have a job to do! Let me do this; some of you that are in the aisles, I need you to move back into where you were sitting so that people can get to you. That’s the only reason.
Alright, some of you here maybe move back into where you were sitting. Move back to where you were sitting so people can get around you and pray for you! Well, church family, go for these folks! Find out who’s standing! Find out what the issue is! Lay hands on them and pray!
Okay, you should have enough information! All you need is a target! All you really need is a target! Holy Spirit, we invite You to come now with power—miracles, signs, and wonders be done for the glory of the name of Jesus!
For the glory of the name of Jesus!
Now, some of these folks need a creative miracle! Speak what needs to be created!
We declare He makes all things new, so let the hip joint be reformed now! Revitalize now in Jesus' name!
Thank You, Lord!
If it’s a proper place to put your hand, lay your hand on the problem! Tailbones are being healed! You don’t need anyone to lay hands on you; just sit down hard and check it out!
Tailbones are being healed! Just sit down! Just by faith! Just sit down, check it out! Move in ways that would aggravate it and find out what the Lord has done! As soon as you realize you’ve been healed in that tailbone, start waving your hands because we want to celebrate with you!
Okay, you’ve got about 30 more seconds! Alright?
Thank You, Lord!
Okay, everyone give me your attention! Just give me your attention! Everyone that received prayer—you’re getting way too happy back there!
Everyone that received prayer—you need to try to do something you couldn’t do in the same way I had this gentleman check his ankle out, standing on the side of it!
Do something you couldn’t do or it was difficult! Alright, check it out, and as soon as you discover you’ve been healed, wave both hands over your head like this until your arms cross! We want to celebrate with you what the Lord has done!
Okay, look around the room! Look around the room! It’s amazing!
We bless You, Lord!
Thank You, God!
Okay, turn and pray one last time! Turn and pray one last time! You’ve got about two minutes and we’ll wrap it up!
Thank You, Lord! We ask for increased breakthrough anointing! If the person you prayed for is already healed, leave them alone! They might have another issue!
Now we just declare tumors dissolve in the presence of the Lord! Tumors dissolve!
I actually saw earlier tonight just a picture of a tumor in this area right here, so we just declare it come out and that they’re gone in Jesus' name.
Amen. Thank You, Lord!
Alright, all of you that received prayer, check yourself out! If you were healed the second time we prayed, wave your hands over your head and we want to rejoice with you!
We’ve got somebody else over here! Another one there! Another one here! Another one back over here! Wow, wow, wow!
Alright, now if you would just quickly sit down! Just quickly sit down!
It never gets old, does it? How Jesus touches people!
You know, one of the things I like so much about the miracle touch of Jesus, I want you to think about this: do you remember the lame man at the gate Beautiful in Acts chapter 3 when he was healed? It says he was walking, he was leaping, he was praising God! He was walking because he was physically healed; he was leaping because he was emotionally healed; he was praising God because he was spiritually healed! The touch of the Lord always goes deeper than what we can see—it always goes deeper because He’s wooing us into an affection!
Almost said infection, but it’s that too! An affection for a world we cannot see!
All of you that got healed tonight, I just want you to stand up! Just stand where you are, but wave your hands! Just wave your hands!
Wave your hands over your head! I want to count!
Okay, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1—if you’re not waving, I won’t count you—13, 14, 15, 16!
Wow!
68 people! Let’s stand together! Let’s give Him a shout of thanks! A shout of praise! We bless You, God! We bless You, mighty God!
We bless You, mighty God!
Come on, it’s amazing!
You can try this at home! The worst that could happen is nothing! And that’s already happening! So put your hands in front of you!
Lord, increase the grace for the simple miracles, healing and miracles through the people of God to serve our city well, to show them what You’re like! We want our city to know Your works and to know Your ways and to know You!
So I ask for this in Jesus' name!
One more time, let’s give thanks!
We bless You! Thank You! Thank You, Lord!