Bill Johnson | Sermons 2019 | FACE TO FACE WITH GOD

0:00 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is that cool or what right there yes if you missed it thank you Chris for designing this Chris just told me that he was so humble he would work for one quarter of either of those salaries that were just mentioned I believe him I believe over 80 years oh wow so fun I

0:49 have a friend who was in a restaurant eating in a restaurant his wife were eating in a restaurant in the Bay Area six months ago something like that and somebody followed him out of the restaurant and asked if he could pray for them and if they had any particular needs and and they told him what they could use prayer for and then they had a word of knowledge for them about some sort of a injury and and and said the in the word of knowledge are you an athlete and the guy says yeah yeah I guess you could call me an athlete and said you have a physical need and he had had an injury to his leg and so it found out his name but it didn't register but till they got in the car and drove away that

1:35 it was actually car was the quarterback of the Raiders had followed them out to pray for them not flaunting his name just operating a word with word of knowledge to pray for them and they in turn prayed for him and that made I loved loved hear the stories they're real people real faith in the trenches doing what they're supposed to do so I haven't been a Raiders fan but I'm every to rethink things at the moment so some of you will be happy for that but anyway anyway that was pretty pretty fun story my dad this isn't my testimonies all right my dad would swear and then say excuse my French it's a picture of a small

2:21 child with his hands over his eyes my dad would swear and then say excuse my French one day at school the teacher asked if anyone could speak a foreign language and I raised my hand that's funny some of you can relate to this denial anger bargaining depression acceptance the five stages of waking up those of you how many of you have at least three children okay you will especially appreciate this the first child eats dirt parent calls a doctor second child eat dirt eats dirt parent cleans its mouth out third child eats

3:08 dirt / wonders if they really need to feed him lunch that's this pitiful yeah one more as a child my family's menu consisted of two choices take it or leave it all right open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6 and the second passage is Colossians chapter 3 Matthew chapter 6 Colossians chapter 3

3:59 I was seen I was in Switzerland and I was complimenting them on their on their chocolate I was just just wanting to give honor where it was due somebody had an open box of chocolate in their purse a gal did she ran up and gave it to me and I felt embarrassed for yeah I just can't mention things you know first service I mentioned something about this podium was so cool but it didn't make coffee so someone ran and got me coffee [Applause] so and so it's something I said just wanna give honor to you guys work to do appreciate your chocolate it's amazing somebody who ran up and gave me chocolate and I took it and I said I also like Ferraris I don't know it

4:49 didn't work I don't know what I want to do today is I want to I want to do a tune-up a tune-up is where you just get things in your heart your mind readjusted for be repositioned in a place of even greater strength there's so much that the lordship of Jesus provides that it's possible to make what he provides the focus instead of the lordship of Jesus there's so much that happens under the lordship of Jesus for example if you're we were to build something all based on this one foundation called the lordship

5:34 of Jesus it would include many things but one of the things would be abundance Jesus told his own disciples who had left everything he said I will add a hundred times as much back into your life so in the lordship of Jesus is abundance but as you know it's very possible to pursue abundance apart from the lordship of Jesus and whenever I obtain something a part separate from the lordship of Jesus it doesn't add to my service it takes away it dilutes it distracts it affection that is to be anchored in him and in robs me of being positioned to have great great impact on the world

6:19 around me there's two things that I want to to just start with that will be these will be kind of the boundaries like safety railing if you would on a journey these two railings these two boundaries are what keep us healthy is what keep us focused on grill priorities I don't like introspection but it doesn't hurt to take examination of what God is pointing to and so these are the two things number one the most important thing in life the absolute number one most important thing in life is eternity heaven is real hell is real nothing outweighs the reality of heaven the heaven hell issue nothing you can

7:08 rejoice be happy every day of your life without being born again you have no hope of eternal life it's been said that all roads lead to the same place that there's many ways to go if there are many ways to god then the father is cruel for requiring his son Jesus to die in our place if you can get there if somehow you can reach God on your own then he didn't need to reach us every religion has you reaching God the gospel has God reaching you there's a huge difference between the two and this issue of eternity must we must stay conscious of the fact that

7:54 life and death is real and that our influence in the world around us above every other realm of influence should be under this one end people have to give an account of their lives accountability is one of the most foundational truths to teach children as they grow up is that we have to give an account for our life we have to give an account for a person who is in Christ I've come to Jesus I've asked him to forgive my sin I surrender my life to follow his lordship his leading his direction in my life I am in Christ I am accepted just like his son just like the son Jesus is accepted by the father but

8:41 the whole issue of reward that my life is about is determined by what I do with what I've been given I'm in a position of being righteous but the scripture says that without holiness in my life righteousness in my life there's no chance of seeing God now number one what does that mean I am in Christ so I'm considered righteous by the father but then he gives commands for becoming righteous in other words I have to become in conduct when I am by position that in no way makes me puts me in a position to earn salvation from God Jesus earned it for me but once I am

9:29 saved the whole issue of reward which may not not mean a lot to you now but it will the day stand before the Lord it's going to matter a whole bunch what I do with what I've been given determines the reward there's a concept that Paul teach as he talks about our life and he represents every act every word every everything about how we function in life is represented by this pile and the pile has silver gold precious stones but it also has wood hay stubble and what it gives a picture of as God lights this pile that represents my life I stand before him here's this huge pile it's my whole life everything good bad the ugly the sin is not there

10:16 sin has been dealt with but how many know you can have actions apart from Christ they weren't sin actions but need there were they actions of righteousness here's the pile he lights a match he lights the pile on fire it's reduced down to good gold silver precious stones it's reduced to to what he gives me reward for it's not for the purpose of shame it's for the purpose of reward why Hebrews 11 says he who comes to God must believe that he is number one but he's also the reward er of those who seek Him the need for the concept of reward in our culture is huge because

11:03 it's that concept that reveals God as a father the ignoring the the issue of reward costs us terribly because we end up communicating a God who is a taskmaster not a father the concept of reward is essential because he looks at what you've done in Christ and he gives eternal reward for it it's his privilege of celebrating who you are and what you've done so we have this issue of eternity heaven hell reward and then we have this other issue it's in Matthew 6 I want you to look at we're just going to start here with verse let's say let's

11:50 go back to verse 27 but which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature that's 18 inches how many of you can worry yourself tolerance what he's asking probably not gonna happen verse 28 so why why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these now if God so clothes the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown in the oven well he not much more clothe you oh you of little faith therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all these things the Gentiles which is a term that now

12:37 means unbeliever in this context what do the jente this is what the Gentiles seek your heavenly Father knows that you need these things and here's our verse seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness all these things shall be added to you okay it's a verse that we most of you in the room know well because it's it's almost as popular as John 3:16 for God so loved the world all right seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you say that with me seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you now when he says what Jesus says seek first the kingdom of God and then he adds as and his righteousness he's not

13:23 adding something to the subject he's emphasizing in Romans 14:17 the Apostle Paul wrote these words he said the kingdom of God is not meat or drink but it is righteousness peace and joy so already know the kingdom of God is righteousness peace and joy so when Jesus says seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness he's drawing an emphasis to something that is going to be essential for us as we stand before the Lord I am in Christ so it's not a heaven or hell issue but I am in Christ and what I do with what he gave me determines the level and measure of reward it's not on our minds much it's

14:08 on his all the time why did he put in the Garden of Eden why did he put the tree the knowledge of good and evil and the ferb and the forbidden fruit why did he why did he put the tree I'm sorry the tree of life and the knowledge of good and evil why did he put these two trees in the garden because if there's obedience there's reward he always makes sure that we have options you we can never be rewarded where there's no option and he looks for opportunity so he actually allows for options to be created in our life to choose faith or to choose unbelief it's not Heaven or Hell choose faith to choose unbelief why because his of his heart to give reward

14:56 so here we have this passage seek first the kingdom of God let's define Kingdom Kingdom is that realm of God's Dominion he is the of all Kings so it's the realm of his Dominion his domain so when the kingdom of God touches a person who is sick they become healed why because in his Dominion there is no sickness when the kingdom of God touches poverty poverty goes and abundance comes so the whole concept is seek first the kingdom of God seek first the rulership the lordship of Jesus and then all these other things that you have need of that you have dreams for they will be added to you what happens when when we want things

15:41 out of outside of the lordship of Jesus for example this this just make it material so that because it's easy to measure let's say that let's say that I want I want something a car or a house whatever it might be I've got this the Ferrari yes thank you so much for bringing that to my attention it's harder to use the illustration now all right for her that was a joke all right so let's say that I am I want I have something on my list of goals for my life God has more desires for me to be blessed than I have desires to be blessed but I mess up the process when I try to pull out of season something into

16:27 my life and that's what greed is greed is actually related to the mindset and value system of a thief because a thief will take what's not there so does greed greed pulls out of season something into this season it's very similar in nature to a thief because I am pulling something out of sequence out of season into my life that is now in my life but it's not there as a reward it's there it's there as something that will actually eat away at the affection in my life to make Jesus Lord and to serve him fully so what could have been a basis for me to give thanks and praise now become something that wars with my affections that's why the the timing issue does

17:14 learning of the father's heart to reward is huge the father's heart to celebrate to add to cause to flourish so he says seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness the issue of righteousness is is is a is a big deal to God he says in Hebrews I've already quoted it without a holiness a person won't see the Lord so there has to be the fact that I have been I've put my faith in Christ who became holy for me once that has taken place I am in the Lord and he gives me access now let me rephrase it not only is the power of sin broken in my life but the record of sin is broken

18:01 not only not only is the the power of sin to where I don't have to continue to sin but the record of sin so it's been wiped away where I now inherit the the record of Jesus without blemish now becomes mine so the father now sees me in Christ but here's the challenge he speaks to us to change us and his voice is what brings transformation to us I want to illustrate in John 15 in John 15 the Lord speaks and he says he says you're the vine I'm the Brent excuse me I'm divine you're the branches the father's there the the vine dresser and then he goes on and he says now any branch that doesn't bear fruit he's gonna prune it all right so the prune we

18:46 know is disciplined and then he turns to his disciples and he says but you are clean already because of the word I've spoken to you so follow this he says any branch it doesn't bear fruit he prunes what's the picture it's a vine lots of length in the branch lots of leaves no grapes he doesn't like that so he'd rather have you not looking good shrim you back a bit so that you become productive in the things that matter to him wants us to flourish he's designed us to first everybody in this room has been designed to be a great fruit Bearer that brings glory to God and honor to yourself and so he takes the branch and

19:34 when he prunes it he prunes it back to her bare fruit so this is what he says he turns his disciples after giving this illustration he says but you guys you're already clean and the word clean is the same word prune so what he said what is he saying since I if you guys don't bear fruit he says you're gonna get pruned you're gonna get trimmed back you touch this decipher sense but I've argued been pruning you by how by the word I have spoken so what's the point the point is is listening to God is what prunes us I have people say well I'm under the discipline of the Lord well what they mean is is they have bad situations going on in her life well it may be that the bad situations you attracted to yourself because you didn't listen to him when he was talking to you because

20:20 he was trying to prune you with his words and the circumstances are just to get your attention so you'll listen again I mean you know Jonah in the belly of the well decided to listen again the whale wasn't the discipline the voice was but he ran from the voice all right so here we are seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you what the Lord is looking for is creating in us an awareness number one the heaven he'll issue eternity eternity it's not heaven or

21:06 hell if you're in Christ I hope you get that picture but our influence and the world around us is a heaven or hell issue you can't you can't make that go away and if you succeed in never thinking about it you had just damaged your impact on the world around you because you will not think with consequences you will not think to live anyway that has impact on the world around you to save them from the heaven l issue you know it's really easy if I don't think about eternity to think the big breakthrough for me is my house or maybe the college education the degree or or if you're not married getting married or if you're married you

21:51 don't have kids kids whatever might be fill in the blanks we all have dreams outside of staying conscious of eternity I could actually reduce the gospel down to the next answered prayer instead of living conscious of why I'm on a planet I'm on a planet so that people are rescued and come into life so on one hand we have the issue of eternity but on the other hand we have his value system seek first the kingdom of God seek first his Dominion everything needs to come through the filter of me valuing his lordship above everything else it basically comes down to this God I have so many dreams and desires in my heart and you're supposed to if you don't then

22:37 religion has been killing you yeah it's if you honestly if you don't have dreams unity is saved again now that that came out wrong that was supposed to be humorous and somebody will take that serious I'll be in deep trouble but here's what it is when you come to know what this father is like it automatically releases the grace for dreams but in the dreaming it has to be kept in the context of seeking first the kingdom so that the house the child the marriage the degree the new business that whatever it might be all becomes expressions of a father who rewards and not this self achievement

23:23 thing okay I draw something out this last week has nothing to do with a message but I do think it's funny if you want to learn more about yourself skip the personality test and the temperament analysis test just do a water fast for seven days you'll find out more about yourself than you ever wanted to know Colossians Colossians 3 Colossians 3 verse 1 I'm sure you have portions of Scripture like I do that you just returned to just because they're so good and this is one of those that I just on somewhat of a regular basis I

24:10 just get back to because it's so good Colossians 3 verse 1 if then you were raised with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God set your mind on things above not on things on earth or you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God that is such a a pregnant set of verses it's I don't know I read a lot of things that just baffle me this is one of them I've studied them I've meditated on them I prayed over them I've done all the things you're supposed to do and when I read it still it just baffles me but I like things that baffle me I like things that just cut me deep I

24:56 like things that just challenge me and this is one of those portions of Scripture the passion translation translate this in a real very very fun way verse 1 Christ resurrection from the dead is your resurrection - this is why we are to yearn for all that is above that's where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power honor and authority yes feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities and not with the distractions of the natural realm I don't believe what Paul is saying there is to ignore the natural the physical realm he's talking priorities he's talking sequence sequence of lordship of

25:41 Jesus over everything what happens in the natural that realm becomes the reward becomes the the like the canvas that he paints on it becomes the place where he illustrates his nature and invites us into that kind of a relationship it it would be unnatural for a parent not to have a dream for their child it would be unnatural for businessperson not to ever dream for their business and you're called by God to be there dreaming in in natural realm is vital I think for us it really shows that we're alive but the problem that's being dealt with here is is the issue of order and priority in sequence I I don't know how to communicate this well I wish I had

26:26 better language for this I just know that there have been times in my life I just know there's times in my life where I could walk you through my house and I could say we got this at this season in our life this is what God was teaching us this was the reward for this season I could walk you through the entire house everything from the beds we slept on to the couches we purchased to the TV in the corner of the room - didn't matter the hunting rifle that I had a hunting rifle I know it's not popular but I have many now they reproduce they're in my safe they just I don't know what it is they just keep reproducing it's it's a miracle it's like rabbits I don't know I don't get but I remember I had a very

27:15 vert we had very little income very very small income and and I was given some birthday money and I wanted about hunting rifling and and I and I was ready to do it and I felt this check in my heart because we owed X amount of dollars and I thought man I need to be responsible so I paid the bill and as soon as I did it came to church that Sunday night and a dear old friend of mine that who was one of the elderly folks here when I was like 21 came to me they said Bill you need a gun I said yes yes I do he said come to my house I didn't tell a soul about my inner struggle and yet I have that you know interesting thing my house was broken into I had several guns they were all stolen except for this one and it was the most valuable of all of

28:01 them not only sentimentally but economically and it was like the thieves that stole didn't see the one that was with the others it was just right there I don't this may not mean anything to anybody else but it prophesized to me that here's here's something that God released to me in a season that was bigger than an item and what you want is you want your life filled with things that prophesy you want to be able to go in and and sit on the bed walk into the home or go to the job that on a difficult day you're working but God spoke to you and he opened that job up for you and it's more than it's more than a nine-to-five job it is this prophetic decree over your life of what God is doing the season the increase and impact it is you know it means it now

28:48 takes these natural things and it makes them supernaturally effective they have a place in my history with God it's no longer just a book on a shelf it was a book that was given at a certain time and it impacted my life it's no longer just the TV that I watch it's no longer just a yard for the children to play in it's all connected to this ongoing relationship with a father who delights in everything and this this seeking first the kingdom it's the only way you get that it's the only way you get a natural world turned into a supernatural journey it's the only way you get that is that everything belongs to him means you're hanging on to everything loosely and it means that sometimes this is taken but if he ever remove something

29:34 it's only because he's adding greater and it's that element of trust in those changing seasons it's lordship it's all about lordship it's not about who dies with the most toys it's it's honestly it's all about at the end of the day you know in the early days here it's still true now but in the early days here I remember we had so many people leave when the Holy Spirit began to move and so many people again began to leave and it was you know we we just bending I just did good we didn't traumatize us at all it maybe should have but it didn't it there's a long story there made actually do a Sunday where I just but let me tell you at the end of the day I only had two things on my you know the dashboard of your car you have several gauges I only had two on my

30:20 dashboard in Christ it was number one did God show up number two did I do what he said so many things that man if God showed up I did what he said place could be packed to the rafters there could be just me and Benny in the room simply does not matter it I mean that I mean that genuinely it doesn't matter did I do what he said he show up and did I do what he said that's the only issues that that rise up in my heart at the end of the day is to be able to I sleep well at night because he showed up I did what he said that's the bottom line and every one of us have been invited into this kind of journey where there's there's this interesting mixture of sacrifice and reward sacrifice and reward you you give and he gives back you give

31:05 sometimes that give back as immediate sometimes it's years later I'm benefiting today from things that I gave 30 years ago I know it's a fact I know there are certain things that are happening in my life right now that I cried out for I wept for I stood before the Lord and wept for four years 20 30 35 40 years ago and yet today they're being answered you want to have something that you're harvesting tomorrow plant something today plant something in the lordship of Jesus today because this is so vital so here's our life our life is eternity that'll sober your right up eternity accountability I will stand before the Lord to give an account the other is this filter seeking

31:53 first the kingdom of God his Dominion his rulership in everything that as we pursue success in business it's for the kingdom of God it's an expression of his lordship it's in healthy family it's in the kingdom of God everything goes through this filter those two gauges on our dashboard help us helps us to live effectively and powerfully so here we've got this this passage in Colossians where he says set your mind on things above not on things on earth faith operate out of the invisible realm Paul put it this way he said in second Corinthians two he said um you said what you can't see is eternal what you can see is temple case we have we have these two

32:40 realities and what he's saying is saying listen the invisible is not the shadow of the natural in other words it's not inferior the invisible has more substance than the natural what you can't see is more substantial than what you can see what you can see is temple it's limited it will fail it will burn it will dissolve it will break down what you can't see the unseen realm that's where faith operates from so in this scripture that Chris mentioned earlier where faith moves a mountain the mountain is natural faith is in the

33:26 unseen what's supposed to happen is the faith of our life the lordship of Jesus is supposed to affect the natural world around us it's not that God has no concern to care for the natural world according Corinthians our inheritance is the earth itself so that means we better come up with a plan that helps to heal and save this planet that's the responsibility the church [Applause] so the point is faith that operates in this unseen realm of God's nature his

34:13 promise is supposed to be manifest in how it affects the natural world I realize it's an extreme example taking a mountain casting at the end of the sea but it illustrates an extreme which means it's to affect everything from there all the way back to where we live every day life it affects the disease the sickness it affects the poverty it affects the way you relate to your neighbor it affects our the wisdom that we use in functioning in business all of this is affected by this faith realm because it lives from the unseen towards the natural problems that we face faith is God's nature it's not just something

35:03 he inspires in us it is actually his personal confidence that he gives to us he actually invited us into a journey where we know nothing impossible I think before this whole thing called time ends there would be a generation that learns us

36:20 living through this priority of the lordship of Jesus law not only brings us into greater personal fulfillment in every part of life it actually is the key to seeing dreams fulfilled to see the significance of our life creating this wake if you will in society were many many many countless others come under the influence of the blessing of God on your life on my life it's supposed to be that people can visibly see the effect of lordship on how you do

37:06 life it's not supposed to be just in the unseen it's supposed to have effect on how you love your wife and how your children love you it's supposed to have effect on the way you treat with can treat competitors in business it's supposed to have an effect of what do you do at work when there's conflict how do you treat that person we've all prayed the big prayers we've all prayed the scary prayers how many of you have prayed you want everybody in your family line to be saved it's a good prayer it's a right prayer it's a big one has anybody else ever prayed god I want everyone I pray for to get healed I want

37:56 to see every case of cancer I run into destroyed I want to see blind eyes up and regularly I want to see the dead raised continuing we pray this prayer I don't think it's possible to come where we hunger to go in God that he's invited us into I don't think it's possible to make it there without learning how to navigate disappointment loss criticism and betrayal if I can't trust him in Los I'll never

38:42 trust him in abundance if I don't find his comfort when I've been betrayed I'll never find his comfort when I'm applauded we've prayed the big prayers and so he welcomes us into this journey to look to the lordship of Jesus in every season abundance lack break through perseverance all these different seasons and he invites us why he's got to see what measure of breakthrough of grace can he release of our lives what measure of breakthrough of the miracle ROM can he trust me

39:32 eternity seek first the kingdom understand the most important part of this day is right now because of the simple chance that there are people here in this room that don't know the Lord please if I could have everybody hold your place it's going to wait till they leave

40:25 the father God sent his son Jesus to take my place in death and to take on himself what I deserve and that was punishment that was death and Jesus actually experienced that for me for you so that everybody in this room could know what it is to be forgiven and to actually be brought into the family of God this is the privilege everybody in this room has I think God has set us up and so for anyone in this room that has never received Jesus as the absolute master and lord of your life you don't know what it is to be forgiven to be brought into his family then I want to give you the opportunity to do that right now

41:11 anyone who would say bill I don't want to leave the room till I know that I'm right with God until I've been forgiven of sin I've been brought into his family that you just put a hand up and I just want to make agreement with you where you are one make sure everybody in the room has that opportunity to know what it is to be forgiven of all sin if I don't see you wave your head that because out I don't want to belabor the point but I want to make sure all right all right well let me pray for you all right let me have a ministry team if you could start making your way down that would really help me out and then we're going to turn turn the ministry to him over in just a moment but if you'd the rest of you just put your hands out in front of you let me just pray for you just kind of as an act of receiving father I ask

41:58 in the wonderful wonderful name of Jesus wonderful name of Jesus that you'd give us such awareness of eternity help us not to become dead into that reality but to live aware of eternity and how you see life seeking first your kingdom I pray for the revelation of that to remain on us as a body of people of family believers I asked for this in Jesus wonderfully everybody said amen [Music]