Bill Johnson - Sobering Leadership Mistakes and How to Leave a Legacy
See, sometimes when you’ve served the Lord for a while and you’ve risen, you’ve obeyed, and you’ve done this and that, there can be a sense of entitlement that makes us feel like certain things are owed to us now that we’ve risked our lives for the gospel. The bottom line is, He owes me nothing; I owe Him everything. I don’t have the right to withdraw my lifestyle from living on the edge of sacrifice. That’s what Hezekiah did—the reformer gave birth to absolute corruption. Thanks. This has been a gym class this morning, where we just go up and down, up and down. We have an election coming up, in case you haven’t heard, or if you’ve been living in a cave somewhere. It’s really important that you vote—really important you vote.
I heard one of the worst statistics in my life just last week or two weeks ago: that there are 31 million believers in the United States who don’t vote. That silence shouts louder than our voice. In a democratic republic, the people are the government, so to not vote is like having a president who doesn’t go to work. We have to own up to the fact that we have a responsibility, and any vote that supports transgender issues and cutting off parts of children who have no responsibility or accountability to their parents is equivalent to burning children alive to the god of Molech in the Old Testament. It is no less evil or corrupt. So, those are my thoughts.
In New York, 1964, there were 38 people who watched a woman get raped and murdered, and nobody did anything. They studied these kinds of cases and found what they call the bystander effect: the more people watching something, the less likely anyone will actually act. When only one or two people see something, they feel responsible to act. But not one person called the police because they all thought someone else would. We have 31 million believers who all think someone else would do something. So, if that’s you, take your hand like this and bring it to the side of your head repeatedly in Jesus' name just to make it right. All right, there we go.
Seriously, well, you know I’m serious. Just don’t be dumb. Imagine falling in love with someone, then finding out they clap their hands when the plane lands. If you see me talking to myself, please go on your way. I’m self-employed; I’m having a staff meeting. In some hot part of the country, they have a sign in front of the church that says, «Too hot to keep changing the sign. Sin bad, Jesus good. Details inside.» A motorcyclist is a person willing to take a container of flammable liquid, place it on top of a hot engine, and then put the whole thing between their legs. I have a bumper sticker that says, «Honk if you think I’m sexy,» then I sit at a green light until I feel better about myself.
I’ll just do one more. Yesterday, my husband thought he saw a cockroach in the kitchen. He sprayed everything down, cleaned thoroughly. Today, I’m putting the cockroach in the bathroom—funny, right? Hey, by the way, I have a new book just released this week called «Holy Spirit,» and I have a copy for every household—a free copy for every household. Be nice to my staff; they’re out there. If you want more than one, then buy the second one, honestly. And don’t grab one for people who didn’t show up—the snooze-you-lose philosophy! But they’re out there somewhere. So who doesn’t want to wait in line? You don’t? All right, there we go. So be nice to them.
All right, take your Bibles and open to 2 Chronicles 32. We’re also going to read a passage out of 2 Kings 20, so 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32. I’ve had a couple of conversations—maybe three—in the last week or two, where my mind went to a story I remember studying some years ago and teaching about the life of King Hezekiah. Some things just really stirred in my heart in the last week or so about that man and the example he provides for us—his successes and failures. So, I just had it in my heart to talk to you about that today.
Hezekiah is one of the greatest reformers to ever live. At one point, the Lord says of Hezekiah that there was no one like him before or after. That’s pretty extraordinary when you think of that—that there’s no one like him before, which includes King David. The high point of Israel’s history is David and Solomon—the absolute high point of blessing, prosperity, presence, everything. But there was something about Hezekiah that made him stand out. I’d like to suggest that when David became king, he inherited from King Saul a nation that was weak spiritually. He helped bring authentic worship. David actually instituted a way of ministry to the Lord in music and song that was unheard of before. When he instituted this, he did so prophetically—through the guidance of Nathan and Gad, other prophets, who instituted this way of ministry directly to the Lord that was previously unheard of.
So, when David instituted this, he brought life into the nation. When Hezekiah became king, he inherited a nation steeped in demonic worship, false gods—the nation was inundated with the demonic, all through culture and society. So, when Hezekiah became king, he brought the nation out of that junk into passionate worship. He actually restored the way of worship that David first instituted. You can see why in God’s mind Hezekiah would stand out even more than David because of where he had to bring Israel—from their place of demonic worship into a place of passionate love for God.
He was honored by the Lord for this. He brought economic reform, political reform, spiritual reform—military reform all took place during his time. As a weak nation that he inherited, they began to build strength, and as he began to build strength, he started becoming recognized by surrounding nations. Initially, other nations wanted to kill and wipe out Israel, and Isaiah lived during this time. Isaiah the prophet and Hezekiah were friends, and they would intercede and pray together. In fact, at one point, there was a nation that outnumbered Israel like a zillion to one—a slight exaggeration—and they were going to wipe out the nation of Israel. Isaiah and Hezekiah prayed; they got before the Lord, cried out, and interceded. The Lord responded to their prayer and wiped out the enemy nation to the extent that when the king returned home, he went into the temple of his god, and his own children killed him. He came home in shame because they were so far superior to Israel’s army, yet it was the Lord who defended Israel.
It’s just extraordinary story after extraordinary story. Here’s a man who lives—imagine being a king who wants to honor God while inheriting a nation steeped in the demonic. Can you imagine the courage it would take to steer that big cruise ship in the opposite direction? That’s really what he did—he courageously steered the nation back into a place of worship and service to God. That’s why he’s honored as one of the greatest kings in all of Israel’s history. Something happened, though. There’s a key verse we’ll end with, but something happened during this process for Hezekiah.
He became sick, and when he became sick, Isaiah came—in fact, you’ll see it in 2 Kings 20. Isaiah walks into the palace, goes to his room, and says, «Put your house in order; you’re going to die.» That’s a great prophetic word, isn’t it? You’ve been anointed by God to bring this message. He says, «Put your house in order; you’re going to die; you’re not going to live.» He literally just turns around, walks through the courtyard, and the Lord speaks to him, saying, «Go back and tell him I’m going to add 15 years to his life.»
What happened in the meantime? After Hezekiah got the word that he was going to die, he cried out to the Lord. I love this about Hezekiah—he was quick to repent, quick to confess, quick to set his face toward the Lord. He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord was moved by his prayer and told Isaiah, «Go tell him I give him 15 more years.» It’s just an extraordinary story—he knew how to pray.
Well, something happened during this time he got sick. The scripture says in 2 Chronicles 32:31 that «the Lord withdrew His presence from King Hezekiah.» Now, we know the scripture says He will never leave or forsake us. He will never leave you. It’s not that He leaves me, but what He will do is shut down my capacity to recognize Him. It’s never punishment. Here’s the deal: I’ve watched this through the years—there are a number of people who live on an edge of sacrifice. They take bold risks to exalt the Lord and see miracles take place; they will do all these things as long as there’s that felt presence, that sense of anointing on their lives. But when there’s no sense of the anointing of God on them, their risk level plummets; their willingness to sacrifice changes because they don’t have that sense of presence. Does this make sense to anybody?
So, what the Lord is looking for is… this is never for shame; it’s never for punishment. What He’s trying to do is raise up a group of people that can obey when they’re inspired and can obey when they feel nothing. Can you offer the same offering and sacrifice? Can you exhibit the same zeal? Can you take the same risk when you feel anointed and powerful—and when you feel nothing? Can you respond the same? He’s looking to raise up a generation He can rely on because He wants a group of people upon whom He can rest His weighty presence, and they won’t pervert it for their own personal gain; they won’t destroy its purpose for their own personal promotion.
So, that’s what happened to Hezekiah. In this season, he becomes famous. In fact, the scripture says he was highly exalted. We’ll look at it in a moment—in Chronicles. It says he was highly exalted, and during this time, where he was… Don’t think that being exalted is antichrist or not godly. Everybody in this room has been exalted from a previous position, and there’s still more. Yes, amen. Peter says, «Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that He might exalt you in due time.» His promotion comes without sorrow; self-promotion always comes with sorrow. His promotion comes without sorrow. The Bible says, «The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.»
So, when the Lord brings an elevation, a promotion of some sort, there’s no sorrow with it. But when we fight to be recognized, it always comes with taxes; there’s always a balloon payment at the end because it will not be the thing you thought. All right, that was free, but I don’t know—I maybe should have charged you for it.
So, here’s the thing with Hezekiah: he prays, God heals him, and now he has surrounding nations. He’s got the leaders from Babylon who come; they’re bringing gifts to the Lord and to Hezekiah. They want to honor him. Why? Because they see God’s favor on him. They come with gifts to honor and celebrate his promotion and leadership, and his effect on surrounding nations is increasing—it’s extraordinary. Then the leaders from Babylon come, and it says that Hezekiah showed him everything he owned. He showed him the military strength, showed him his treasure house, showed him everything. Isaiah comes to him and says, «What did you show them?» He said, «I showed them everything,» probably thinking he did something impressive.
Isaiah said, «That’s a bummer because these surrounding nations are going to take everything away, and even your own sons will be taken captive; they’ll be made eunuchs, and they will serve in a foreign king’s court.» Why would a king like Hezekiah show other leaders everything he owns? I’d like to suggest to you that insecurity makes us do stupid things. Anytime you recognize an insecurity in you, be thankful because insecurity is a wrong security exposed. He’s revealing a faulty platform that you’re standing on; that I’m standing on.
So Hezekiah, in his mercy, is trying to show me where there’s weakness in my foundation. Here Hezekiah is trying to use his possessions, title, gifts, fame, and all this stuff to increase favor from surrounding nations. What’s wrong with that? God was giving it to him as a gift; now he’s getting it as wages. Let me give you a different example: Satan—the serpent—comes to Adam and Eve and says, «If you eat this fruit, you’ll be like God.» They already were! They were trying to obtain through their own labor what they already had by grace. What was Hezekiah doing? He was trying to obtain by his own labor what he already had by grace: an increasing favor from surrounding nations.
The crazy thing is one of the things that Hezekiah did—the noble thing—was he took, do you remember some of you remember the story where sickness hit Israel and Moses lifted up a post, a stick, and there was a bronze serpent on it? Everyone who looked at that serpent was healed; it was a prophetic picture of Christ who would hang on a cross. Everyone who looked at the serpent was healed. Well, Israel began to worship this serpent. What was it? It was a gift from God, but anything God gives you out of its place can become an idol. Your family can become an idol; your job can become an idol; your gift, your anointing can become an idol. Anything that we distort out of its assigned place vies for an affection that was supposed to be only for God.
So, here we are in this passage in 2 Kings 20. It says that Hezekiah gave attention to these leaders. Isaiah came to him and said, «The days are coming, verse 17, when all that’s in your house—which your fathers accumulated until this day shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left; they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you whom you will beget; they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.»
Listen to Hezekiah’s response. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, «The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.» He said, «For there will be peace and truth at least in my days.» Do you realize what we just read here? Hezekiah has so fallen from his sacrificial edge of living for a future generation that he’s become so self-absorbed that when he hears a prophetic word from a prophet he knows to be accurate—when that prophet says, «Your own kids are going to be taken, made eunuchs in another country, and they will serve in a foreign king’s palace"—Hezekiah’s response is, «Oh, at least there will be peace in my days.»
So sad. How does one fall from that place of sacrificial living—the edge of risk, the visionary willing to risk his life to establish a course of direction for a nation that could affect hundreds of years of history—how does he fall from that to this? I found the verse, and you come back next Sunday, and I’m going to share it with you. It’s in 2 Chronicles 32:23, «And many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and presents to Hezekiah, king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.» In those days, Hezekiah was sick near death. He prayed to the Lord, and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up.
Okay, you might have missed it; let’s read it again. «Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up.» I’ll come back to this verse; I want to make one other point, and then we’ll talk about this verse. The very next chapter, 2 Kings 21 tells us Manasseh becomes king. You read through that chapter; it’s scary. He’s like the most evil and corrupt king in Israel’s history. He was Hezekiah’s son! How old was he? It says he was 12, which means he was born after God had healed Hezekiah, and he reduced his response to the Lord from sacrificial to complacent. Manasseh was raised in a religious complacent environment.
This generation will never sell out to the Lord, but if they’re raised by a complacent generation, they’re not interested in form without power—not interested in routine without relationship. We owe it to them to be burning ones so that we actually have something to pass off to the next generation that’s worth living for, worth dying for. What happened here is Hezekiah, after his healing, begins—I’m sure he continued to respond. He was a great leader; he reinstituted Davidic worship, so I’m sure he continued to offer sacrifices, do all the external things. But the sacrifice was gone because it says he did not repay according to what the Lord had done for him.
If someone buys your lunch today, are you going to say thanks to them? If they buy you a car, will it be the same level of thanks? It’s going to be big. You thank them for lunch; you might dance if they give you a car. The point is the response is equal to what was given. When we fail to recognize what God has done for us—that we still don’t deserve—sometimes when you’ve served the Lord for a while and you’ve risen, you’ve obeyed, and you’ve done this and that, there can be a sense of entitlement that builds into our thinking, into our attitude. It makes us feel like certain things are owed to us now that we’ve risked our lives for the gospel. The bottom line is He owes me nothing; He owes me nothing!
He doesn’t owe me any explanation—I love when He gives it. He doesn’t owe me anything; I owe Him everything! I could never see another miracle or sense the anointing on my life for another day, and I would still owe Him an absolute sacrificial lifestyle for His glory. I could never have one more miracle financially, yet I would still owe Him continuous offerings of sewing to what He’s saying and doing, and He’s looking to raise up a generation that can live out of the principle of what God has done for us. I owe Him everything. I have no plan B. I don’t have the right to withdraw my lifestyle from living on the edge of sacrifice. That’s what Hezekiah did—he withdrew from the reformer to the person who somehow over the years became complacent. Manasseh was raised in that environment, and he became the most corrupt and evil king in Israel’s history.
The reformer gave birth to absolute corruption. There’s a saying—I should have looked it up. Forgive me for not doing so—but there’s this proverb that says, «The person who is lazy in their work is brother to him who destroys.» So follow this logic with me. We’ve got the passionate servant of God, we have the complacent, and we have the opponent to the gospel. Who are the two that are most alike? It’s not the passionate and the complacent; it’s the complacent and the opponent. Wow, the king was challenged: «Strike the ground with the arrows.» He strikes it three times, and the prophet becomes angry. What was he being tested for? He was being tested not for how many times he could strike the ground, but for the kind of fire with which he lives.
Does complacency rule the day? Is he going to do token obedience? Is he going to give a token response to what God has commanded him to do? It says Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him for his heart was lifted up. That’s kind of what pride does—yesterday’s sacrifice is today’s convenience. How many of you have no problem raising your hands before the Lord? How many remember when it was a problem? Does anybody remember the first time you raised your hands? I remember the first time I danced before the Lord—I was alone in a house. I turned the lights off and closed the curtains because I was sure all the news agencies were outside with cameras trying to film what I was about to do. I just saw it in the Bible; He spoke to my heart that I was to dance before Him. I closed everything; I didn’t want anybody to see. I was embarrassed for myself. I turned the lights off; my face turned red as I danced before the Lord in the dark. It was a sacrifice. Today, it’s a convenience.
It doesn’t mean you have to get weirder and weirder. What it does mean is you live on the edge, ready to do whatever He says. You’re alive enough to do whatever He says. The thing that took Hezekiah from being this extraordinary reformer to just another name on a list of guys who didn’t end well was that when God blessed him extremely, he did not sacrifice in return extremely. I’m here to encourage you—there’s something about just that extra mile—just not doing what’s convenient. Sacrifice is a step beyond convenience.
My grandfather—my dear mother is 95 years old down here, and it’s so good to see you here. Her dad, we’d sit down for dinner. He liked coffee that was extremely strong; you could walk on it without faith. He liked salt; he put layers of salt on his food. We’d go to a restaurant, and he would take the salt shaker and shake and shake, and hardly anything came out. He’d say, «Ah, it’s a tither.» I remember growing up—I asked him, «Grandpa, what do you mean it’s a tither?» He said, «It only gives what it has to.» Sacrifice proves you’re alive; sacrifice proves we’re alive.
Sacrifice proves we’re thinking of future generations. Sacrifice means I’m here, not for self-consumption. I’m not here for what I get out of this; I’m here because I’m investing. Please stand. All right, we made it! At least I think we made it. Yes, Jesus. I feel like there’s probably something He wants to show us, specifically—show me, but show us for this next season about how to live on that edge. I don’t mean emotional frenzy; I don’t mean hyped; I mean just that place where I know I’m alive enough to do whatever He says. I’m just alive enough to do whatever He says.
So, Father, I pray for that kind of grace to rest upon us as a family. Thank you for this group of people who have just said yes, coming from all over the world just because they hunger for You. I honor you for that; I honor You for what You’re doing here. How many of you would say, «God, ignite my heart for more, ignite my heart for more»? So we pray that together—ignite our hearts for more, ignite our hearts for more.
Thank you. I want to ask the question: If there’s anyone here who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus—you may be online; you may be in the room, overflow—if there’s anyone here who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, and you don’t know what it is to be what the Bible calls «born again,» where you’re actually adopted and brought into God’s family, it’s a relationship that you develop with God Himself.
If you want that, I feel like God brought you here for that reason. If you want that, I want you to put a hand up, and I want to make an agreement with you right where you’re standing. If that’s you, put a hand up, just saying, «That’s me. I don’t want to leave until I know I’m in right standing with God.» Is there anyone? Okay, I’m going to assume you’re all in. I bless you in Jesus' name! Oh, there is one right here. Oh goodness, grace—I missed you! So bless you. Anyone else?
We have people that we know and trust right over here by this banner that I would love to have you come and talk with them. If somebody brought this individual, just walk them down here. Any others that would come? I want to encourage you to come over here; we just have people that we know and trust, and I’d like to have them talk and pray with you. Ministry team, if you would come to the front, and if this individual could come over here, I’d love to have somebody just talk with you and pray with you, and Tom, come and wrap it up for me, please. Thanks! Can we just give Pastor Bill a big hand? Amazing!