by Bill Johnson
We must expect and press in for more!
The Ultimate Reputation
How do you want people to remember you? People work so hard to create an image and form a reputation for themselves. For some it’s their beauty or their skills. For others it’s their significance or their place in society. And still others work hard to create an image from the spiritual gifts they operate in. The Bible even teaches us the value of a good name (see Prov. 22:1). It is obviously important if it’s done correctly. But if you could chose one thing to be known for, one thing that would distinguish you from everyone else, what would it be?
God chose Israel’s reputation for them. At least He chose what He wanted it to be. They were the least of all, the most insignificant of all, the weakest of all nations. There was nothing about their natural qualities that made them stand out from any other people group. But there was this one thing that was to set them apart. “And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest’” (Exod. 33:14). It would actually be the glory of God—His manifested Presence—that would be their distinguishing mark.
For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth? (Exodus 33:16)
They would be distinguished from all other peoples by the Presence of God.
Favored Favorites
Church history is filled with people who obtained favor from the Lord in unusual ways. Most of us have favorites—those we have admired for various reasons, many according to our own history and background. These heroes of the faith reached places in God that we long for. Their place of great breakthrough is always to become the new norm as their example welcomes us to pursue Him in the same fashion. He still welcomes all.
In light of the subject of this chapter, one of those I admire most is Kathryn Kuhlman. I actually had the privilege to see her on several occasions as a young man. I respect her so much, for so many reasons. The miracles that came forth in her meetings are certainly one of the reasons. But let’s lay that aside for a moment. Without being disrespectful, I’d like to tell you what she wasn’t. She wasn’t known as a great Bible teacher, or a great preacher, although she could do both. She didn’t have natural beauty that seems to exalt others to a place of favor with man ahead of their appointed time. She wasn’t a great singer, moving crowds with an amazing voice. And the list goes on. What could she do? She just seemed to be the person that God liked to be with. She is known for the Presence. The miracles came from that one thing. The mass conversions came from that one thing. The high places of worship that were experienced in her meetings came from that one thing. She was a Presence woman.
I still get teary-eyed when I watch the video where she talks about her point of absolute surrender to the Holy Spirit. It is a sobering moment indeed. She testifies of the precise moment, the precise location where she said the ultimate yes to God. Those moments don’t reveal our strength. They actually reveal our weaknesses. To be all we can be requires that we are more dependent on God. If ever I saw a person who knew their need for absolute dependency on God it was Kathryn. She said yes and was given the privilege of hosting Him in ways that few have ever imagined.
One of the things she succeeded at, that so many of us miss in our lives, is that she knew who she wasn’t. So many try to wear Saul’s armor—in an attempt to operate in someone else’s gift.2 We see a person we admire and often jealously try to become them or surpass them. Anyone who knows who God made them to be will never try to be someone else. Kathryn illustrated this. But not only that, she illustrated it for the ultimate reason: She was known for God being with her.
The Inferior Points to the Future
Moses’ life stands today as an invitation for all to enter a deeper place with God. The amazing part is that all that Moses experienced happened under an inferior covenant. His accomplishments and experiences should be held in high esteem by the Church. It would be foolish to do otherwise. But it would be equally foolish to ignore the fact that the high-water mark of the Old Testament was not to remain the high-water mark for the New. It is improper to expect superior blessings from an inferior covenant. Our New Testament heroes of the faith understood this. It gave them permission to press in for more.
The death of Christ satisfied the requirements of the Old Covenant while igniting the fires of the New. “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:25). When Jesus died, He paved the way for people to come directly into the Presence of God daily. This was unheard of in Moses’ day. Only the high priest could do that, and it happened only one day a year—the Day of Atonement. The blood made it possible to be a people of His Presence. Certainly this possibility is much more available to us than it was to Israel under the Old Covenant. But the life-altering factor is this: Jesus’ death made it possible to not only come into the Presence of God daily, but for the Presence of God to come into us permanently. We have become the eternal dwelling place of God (see Eph. 2:22). Incomprehensible!
Missing Pieces
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps. 14:1). Even so, many question His existence, and His nature is questioned by most of the rest. Knowing the nature of faith and the tension in this dilemma, the writer of Hebrews said, “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Confidence in His existence and His nature are the essentials to active faith. Faith thrives when we get those two issues settled. And it’s not just a knowing He exists, somewhere out there. It’s a knowing He is present, here and now. This kind of knowing is revealed by our response—diligently seeking Him. It’s that kind of confidence in God. Understanding His nature sets the parameters for our faith. And those parameters are good and broad.
Moses had a series of life-altering encounters with God. The most notable was when he saw the fullness of God’s goodness. There is no greater vacuum in the hearts and minds of humankind than understanding God’s nature, especially as it pertains to the goodness of God. It seems that you can’t even talk about the extreme kindness of God without someone voicing the concern for “sloppy agape” as they used to say, or an anything goes kind of Christianity. Unfortunately, the fear of exaggerating His goodness has kept many a heart from the liberty that He purchased on their behalf. It’s not a rumor; He really is good, always good. And discovering His goodness gives me the grace to serve Him with reckless abandon.
It’s hard to imagine that anyone would not want to surrender to this God of perfect goodness. Considering that even the Church struggles with this picture, it shouldn’t surprise us that the unbeliever does. They’ll need more than words. This one will have to come with Presence.
God is referred to as “the Desire of All Nations” (Hag. 2:7). That tells me that everyone wants a king like Jesus. He is what everyone longs for, yet has come to doubt even exists. The Church represents Jesus, which basically means to re-present Him. If we can host Him, and in the process become like Him, then perhaps the world will actually experience “it’s My kindness that leads you to repentance” (see Rom. 2:4). They will be able to say, “I’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good!” (See Psalms 34:8.)
ENDNOTES
1. Read Momentum: What God Starts Never Ends by Eric Johnson and Bill Johnson for more on this subject. It is also published by Destiny Image Publishers.
2. King Saul tried to get David to wear his own armor when he allowed him to fight Goliath. Saul was a large man. The armor didn’t fit (see 1 Sam. 17:38-39). This represents the times we are tempted to fit into another person’s assignment or gifting to carry out God’s will for our lives. It doesn’t work.
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A Presence that Empowers
The most feared and respected people in the Old Testament were the prophets. When they spoke, things happened. Their
interactions with God produced a very healthy fear of God that often had a great impact on how people thought and lived. There was one thing that separated them from the rest of the crowd. It was that the Spirit of the Lord came upon them. Everything changed in that moment. They went from a respected citizen of a city to a feared citizen of Heaven. There’s no doubt they had a gift from God that was unusual. They could see. Yet it was the Spirit of God upon them that had the most overwhelming influence. God spoke through them, backing His word with signs and wonders. These unusual people brought about some of history’s most bizarre moments. And we are richer because of them.
The prophets were the most feared because the Spirit of the Lord came upon them. That’s it. The Spirit of God, One who, Himself, saturates Heaven with His Presence, rests upon people. And when He does, things happen. These early prophets carried the Presence of God in a way that was rare, especially for their day. Their role is still often misunderstood in ours. They played a vital role in the increasing revelation of the interaction of God’s abiding Presence and the purpose of man on earth. If we can see their history clearly and recognize the momentum created by these great men and women of God, we will be positioned to more readily embrace the assignment for our day. Ours is to be a greater day just as God has promised: “The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former” (Hag. 2:9). Plus, we are to have the benefit of greater clarity of heart and mind through advances that previous generations have obtained for us.
So many of these stories give us prophetic glimpses into a coming day—a day when what was bizarre and odd would become normal. Even now there are things we live with in the church that were once thought rare or impossible. Believe it or not, things are moving forward, progressing.
There is an obvious progression in the revelation of God for His people and an increase in His manifest Presence and glory. He meant it when He said, “Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end” (Isa. 9:7 NKJV). There has only been increase since those words were spoken. We have to adjust how we think and see to not only realize it but cooperate with what God is doing. Again it says of us, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (Prov. 4:18). We should and must expect progress. That same verse is even more fun in the Amplified.
But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared].
Expecting anything less than progression is to think against the true impact of the increasing manifestation of God’s righteousness on the earth through His people.
Sovereignly His
Most of the time when the Spirit of God comes upon a person, He moves through them according to their own maturity and willingness to be used. I said most of the time. I have seen several occasions when the Spirit of God came upon someone and they weren’t hungry, and in some cases they weren’t even willing to be used. As a bystander, it put the fear of God in me. It was God acting in His sovereignty. Amazing, fearful, and wonderful, all at the same time.
Cal Pierce, the director of the Healing Rooms ministry based in Spokane, Washington, experienced one of those times. I saw God choose Him. If I were to live on this earth for another 1,000 years, I could never forget what I witnessed that night. God possessed a man.
My wife and I had been invited to become the new pastors of Bethel Church in Redding, California. The leadership heard what was happening in the church we were pastoring in Weaverville, California, and they were hungry for that at Bethel. Soon after we arrived, the outpouring of the Spirit began. It was wonderful, glorious, and controversial. It always is. Part of the church quickly opened their arms to this outpouring. Others left. Things were happening so quickly that the staff and leadership were unable to help lead in a way that was needed. At the suggestion of one of my pastoral staff members, we called for a private meeting just for the staff. They wanted to help me lead the church in this movement. In that meeting we had teams of people ready to serve the pastoral team and bring them into this divine encounter that was changing so many lives. It was beautiful. I scheduled the same for our leadership.
Somewhere around one hundred people gathered that night. I shared briefly what God was doing and invited the Holy Spirit to come. It was wonderful and simple. Cal and Michelle Pierce were a part of that team as Cal served on the church board. I found out later that they didn’t like what was happening in the church and were putting their plans together to leave Bethel, the church they had been committed to for over 25 years. The controversy and the unusual manifestations of God quickly cooled their hearts for it all. Yet on this night, God had something else in mind. I watched God fall upon Cal and possess him. I wish I knew of another way to put it, but it wouldn’t be honest. He became possessed by God, chosen for something that he wasn’t even interested in. After almost everyone else had left the room, Cal was still standing, trembling, with waves of glory and power pulsating through and through his body. It was wonderful. It was glorious. It was sobering, really sobering. God had chosen His man. And the fruit that now flows from Cal and Michelle testifies to the impact of that moment, which can only be measured in eternity.
I have felt for a long time that too many things get swept under the carpet called the Sovereignty of God. In other words, He gets blamed for whatever happens. People often assume everything that happens must be His will because He is God. They call it His sovereign will. That simply isn’t true. God is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Is anyone perishing? Yes. Is it God’s will? No. Because of that, I tend to emphasize the role that we play in the outcome of things. Yet I love it when He violates my understanding and comfort zone and does something so incredibly sovereign that I stand with increased fear of Him. I’ve learned He will not violate His Word. But He doesn’t seem to mind violating our understanding of His Word.
Un-willfully Prophetic
I once went to speak at a YWAM base in Colorado. Kris Vallotton, a businessman at the time, came with me to help. (He is now a very seasoned prophet on an international level who works on our staff at Bethel.) We watched the Spirit of God come upon many people in very wonderful ways. But He rested uniquely and powerfully upon a young lady who had no background in spiritual gifts, especially the prophetic. In fact, she didn’t even believe they existed. God came upon her in ways that startled everyone. He wanted to speak through her. To be honest, I can’t even say she was willing. She had no clue what was happening to and through her until it was over. It was so glorious, yet so sobering. The word of the Lord through her was powerful and pure. Her extremely conservative background had kept her pure from many of the things that contaminate that generation. We walked her around the room to pray for people (the anointing for this was obviously on her, not us). Each person we took her to was powerfully touched by the Lord through her words. Each prophetic word was so profound. She spoke of things she couldn’t have known in the natural. Was it wonderful? Yes. Glorious? Yes, even beyond words. But Kris and I spent much time ministering to her between sessions because it scared her. And rightfully so. We knew it was God. But it was also beyond our norm.
This situation reveals such a great need for a culture that has an understanding of how the Spirit of God moves. So many people have no one to go to when God touches them in an unusual way. The common response with many in the church is to try to stay average, so our experience in God gets dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. People often, unknowingly, turn away from the anointing in their life to preserve their sense of control. The other extreme is they sometimes think they’re going crazy because their experience seems so different from everyone else’s. The enemy works to isolate us, and that’s one of his tricks. We then end up sabotaging what God is actually doing. People in this position need help to process and learn of the gift that is in them.
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br /> Kris’ personal story is quite profound. It took him years to discover what God was doing in him because it was so outside the box of our history and experience. If we had had more seasoned people around in the early days of his development, we could have shaved off years of turmoil for him. It’s the reason he has such a heart for those with this unusual prophetic gift in their lives.
I know there are many who think this kind of encounter couldn’t be God. After all, the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. At least that’s what I was told throughout the wonderful years of the Charismatic Renewal of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s. A gentleman? My response is perhaps, but by His own definition of the word gentleman. Remember, this Gentleman knocked Saul of Tarsus off his donkey (see Acts 9). Read your Bibles. He does what He pleases. He is God and will not fit into our boxes.
There are many who are very much afraid that God would do such a thing to them and as a result fail to enter a place of total surrender. And then there’s a whole other crowd that thinks if God would touch them that way, it would fix everything. God knows us inside out. He knows our greatest need and our greatest desire. As a perfect Father He longs to provide the very thing that is needed to take us to the next level. But He also knows what would distract us from our purpose and development. We must trust Him to arrange that part of our lives, while making sure that we hunger for and pursue all He makes available to us.
A King Gone Bad
Several Bible stories stand out in this regard. But I’ll pick two because of their uniqueness. The first has to do with King Saul. He started as a good king. He had zeal for the Lord and rose up with righteous indignation when the enemies of Israel threatened the safety of His people. But he isn’t remembered for that. He’s remembered for his failures, as he eventually became a wicked king. A very wicked king.