God’s Presence Is Revealed in Community - Bill Johnson Sermon | Bethel Church

0:00 How many of you want the revelation of the saving grace of Jesus to touch our entire city? They will know. They will know what? They will know. Because if you love one another, they will be convinced of a Christ. I run every day for 15 minutes. If I miss a day, I have 15 minutes to the next day. This has truly been a game changer. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run for three months. Strange new trend has happened at the office. People are putting names on food, putting it in the company refrigerator. Today I had a tuna sandwich named Kevin.

0:44 Two women are sitting in a coffee shop. One turns to the other. She says, I want a man who is loyal, faithful, patient, attentive, forgiving, unselfish, even-tempered, and a good listener. Her friend responds, you want a dog.

1:07 One more, and then I'm done. One more. If you start jogging in your 60s, you find it's a great way to meet people. Today I met one paramedic, two nurses, and I almost met Jesus.

1:37 Oh, goodness. All right. It's going to be a short one today because we have something else we need to do first. One of the things that actually got hit with this thought last night, we had a speaker here 10, 15 years ago who made this statement. He says, whatever you tolerate will dominate. Whatever you tolerate will dominate. Say that with me. Whatever you tolerate will dominate. And I have come to recognize, as probably you have, that there are certain things that happen in life that are just assumed to be natural and normal and almost expected. One, for example, is allergies. You live in an area where there's a lot of pollen, it's just normal to have allergies. Or maybe it's a food allergy, or it's my parents had it, my grandparents. and sometimes what happens is we actually make room for maladies, problems, issues to come up that really aren't in God's plan. Why would God take you and put you in a city that you can't live in in victory and liberty in? Why would he plant you in a place where your body's going to react to the environment?

2:49 why would you so I feel like we just need to start making some not start we started a long time ago but make some decisions in our thinking as to what's normal and what's not normal food allergies years ago we had I did the same thing on a Sunday morning a young lady stood right over here and she stood up and stood in proxy for her son who was autistic and had severe wheat allergy and I believe dairy allergy as well. And we prayed. After the service, she went and got her son and took him to go get pizza, wheat and dairy. And he ate it with no reaction. And then she discovered he no longer had autism. He was actually healed from autism as well. So I feel like, you know, guilt and shame has never helped any of us.

3:46 So there's no guilt and shame for having a condition. We just want to say, you know what? We're not going to just assume that that's part of life. God planted me here. Then he created my body to be able to handle the environment I was placed in. Does that make sense to anyone? So if that makes sense to you and you have any kind of allergy, food, whatever, not people. You can't be allergic to family members or whatever. If you have allergy of any kind, Stan, our friends online too. Just join us. Lay hands on yourself or whatever. But, all right. Allergies.

4:20 Yeah, it's just, there's no allergies in heaven. There's none there. And I think what you tolerate will dominate. And how about we just draw a line in the sand and say, we're not just going to assume this is part of life anymore. So those of you that are sitting down, you have the privilege of extending a hand towards somebody who's standing. lay your hand on them, grab their arm, do something, just partner with them. And I want you just to declare over them, allergies are illegal. God assigned them to this location. in some cases we actually need a creative miracle. I don't know how allergies form, but something has to happen in their makeup to be able to receive the foods and the environment that they live in.

5:15 So Lord, we invite you to come. Let there be a creative miracle. Change the DNA, the blood, whatever it is that needs to be reworked. We invite you to come and rework that right now in Jesus' name. We declare allergies. your illegal invasion into government property. And this ends today. This ends today. I want you just to declare over the one you're praying for. Be whole in Jesus' name. Be whole in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Go ahead and be seated.

5:48 And there was one other. One other. We're just going to take time to go after some of these things in the weeks and months to come. Arthritis. I don't know. I just grew up hearing, you know, when you get older, you just have aches and pains and it's just what happens. God's old. it doesn't exist in heaven I don't think we have to just assume when you get older this is what happens I think we need to draw a line in a sense no wait a minute that foolish thinking I'm not going to agree with anymore that foolish I'm not buying into that lie any longer so if you have arthritis any part of your body no guilt no shame let's just get rid of it and I want you just to stand and sometimes we've had young people that had that rheumatoid arthritis that thing afflicting their body we just declare in Jesus name that ends today so we just declare that over each one of you so do the same extend a hand towards them put a hand on their arm or shoulder whatever and just make that agreement together Yeah. Here's what I have noticed. I have noticed arthritis will oftentimes form in a part of a body that was previously injured.

7:19 A whiplash and then I'll get arthritis in the neck. Forgive the analogy, but it's like flies being attracted to decay. The enemy is attracted to old injuries to sustain their effects. and we're just saying spirit of trauma leave people now in Jesus name this ends today and Lord we invite healing grace that you do a creative miracle to restore any part of the body that has been destroyed through this disease so just say with me I rebuke trauma and I loose the healing presence of Jesus I bless you in Jesus name amen amen go ahead and be seated thanks for doing that wonderful please give us reports please give us reports um i've got 19 minutes to do to do a miracle exactly exactly hyperspeed right now

8:19 No, no, no. Everything we did today was perfect. I appreciate, honestly, Chris, what you did with communion. You know, what I wanted to talk to you about today is how community heals. And so the emphasis that Chris took on today in first service and this one is absolutely perfect. He didn't know what I was going to talk about. And I didn't even realize it was communion Sunday. So it's perfect. Communion, community. I remember after Benny died, I remember going through a season where I loved to be here. I loved to be with people. I was good at responsibility, so I'd take my responsibility, and I could minister out of strength and encouragement. But when it came to social things, Brian and Jen would have worship night at their house, and they'd have a hundred of their team over, and I'd be all excited at the beginning because I loved to be there.

9:13 I loved to be with that group of people. and I'd get into the room and I'd look around the room, all these people, I'd go, nah, I need to go home. And I would run from, not run, I would walk fast from the very thing I wanted, which is just dumb. So I would leave a hundred people I'd love to hang out with. I'd go sit in my house by myself. I'd get home and I'd go, boy, that was dumb. And that happened a couple of times. And I realized I'm, I am resisting the very thing. Not only do I need, but I actually want because of that discomfort. And the Bible teaches, and we'll get into it in a minute, literally in a minute, that in the healthiest form, fellowship is supposed to be a sacrifice. In other words, if I fellowship just for what I need and or when it's convenient, I haven't tapped into that sweet spot in God. Because sacrifice is what attracts presence into any given situation. And learning to live sacrificially is that edge that gives us breakthrough, but also invites the hand of the Lord in ways that we have not seen. So what I would talk to you about is how community heals.

10:23 And if any of us, one of us were a young person desiring to become a professional in a sport, and we had, let's say basketball, and we had the opportunity to sit down with a Michael Jordan or Steph Curry, thank you Jesus. If we had the chance to sit down with our favorite hero in that sport, we would grab the chance and we'd get every bit of information we possibly could, what they did at this age, what their disciplines were, what their values were, how their thought life was, how they focused on their intention to accomplish certain things in that given sport. And we would receive all the information we could possibly get. Well, we have that today. there was 120 people that were in a room and the spirit of god came in power so powerfully it shook an entire city and it was instantly 3 000 converts instantly 3 000 converts and then from after that point it was every single day more people were being added so we have the michael jordan the steph curry the lebron james whoever it might be We have that person in Acts chapter 2.

11:34 And in Acts chapter 2, they said this. They continually devoted themselves to the apostles' doctrine, teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread, and prayers. It's interesting that the Michael Jordan of that era has written down specific instruction for us and how they were able to navigate something no generation had ever experienced before. They were given a gift. They were given an opportunity. They were given a measure of presence no one had experienced before. And this time it wasn't on a prophet like Elijah. It was on an entire generation. And this is what they said. They continually devoted, which means they kept signing the contract over and over and over again. They didn't let it get old.

12:30 They kept it fresh. They kept it in front of their eyes. They devoted themselves to the apostles' doctrine. Please notice, there's not a list of doctrines there because it's not a specific list of doctrines, I don't think. I think it was the present word that God was bringing into the church for that specific season that they were living in. They needed to know the blueprint of heaven for the moment they were in, in history. So they continually devoted. They made sure they were present when that word that set the direction for the church. They made sure they were present. They embraced it fully. Secondly, fellowship. Third, the breaking of bread. House to house, sharing a meal. Fourth, prayers. But get back to fellowship. Fellowship, the exchange of life one member to another. It's not just me seeking friendship because I need help in something. That's not a bad thing.

13:26 It's just the exchange of life. It's the fact that the human body is actually the ultimate, I think, the ultimate illustration of community. Because each member stays alive because it's connected. My late wife, Benny, was an animal lover, and I am too. I just prefer them next to the potatoes. when we were pastoring in Weaverville one of the families a couple, older couple in the church that had a little ranch and they had sheep and they needed one of them cared for I forget why but they needed one cared for and they wanted to know if Benny wanted to take care of this lamb And she said, absolutely.

14:25 So we had a baby lamb in the house. In the house. This thing would follow Benny everywhere. Benny had a little lamb. Her fleece was white as snow. You remember that? Followed her everywhere. Thought that my wife was mom. I mean, literally, just followed her everywhere. And this cute little thing, the way it jumps around and prances. And so we had a lamb in the house for a season. And what I didn't know is that sheep are born with long tails. I didn't know that. I never hung around sheep much, but when I saw them, I never saw them with long tails. So what the owner of this little ranch did is they had this little device, put a rubber band over the tail just about so far out from its behind. And that little rubber band just was tight, and it just cut off all supply. And eventually it just fell off.

15:20 And that's what happens to any member that has supply cut off. The human body is actually a prophetic picture of the nature of community. As we live, because we're connected. we live we thrive our measure of life is actually in many ways due to our connection with people There's a warning in scripture, quite a few of them actually.

16:10 It says, don't forsake the assembling together as is the habit of some. and all the more as you see the day approaching is the day the return in Christ I don't know but whatever the day is we're closer to it now than we were yesterday and the point is is the intensity of the hour has a solution to it and that solution is make sure you're connected to people make sure you're connected to people in this me centered culture it's easy to think in terms of fellowship just out of what I get out of the environment instead of realizing that it's actually an exchange of life. It's learning to do life together that makes it work.

16:58 In Weaverville, we had one of the elders of the church, a man named Bill Daraberry. Chris talks about him often, and he was just the most amazing individual. Here's a church of, let's just say we were 100 people, Here's a church of 100 people. And I would ask on a Sunday, I asked this, I think, a few times through the years, how many of you are here because of Bill Derryberry?

17:26 Two-thirds of the church would raise their hand. They were there because of him. They weren't there because of me. The other third was there because of Chris. I'm pretty sure it was because of him. But they were there because of this man's love. Now, we would have small groups, home groups, try to help Bill in teaching. He didn't teach well. He was a lover of people, and he could talk well and communicate, but he wasn't a teacher. He couldn't lead in worship. He didn't do a number of the things that we thought would really help a small group. But he had a trump card that he would pull out, and it's called I Love Everybody. And our entire community was affected by this one man. And our church was filled with people that were there because he loved them.

18:10 Extraordinary gift. Man, I wish there were a thousand more in the earth exactly like him because he never met a stranger and he just welcomed everybody into his home. That affected our entire city. What did he know how to do well? Community. He was reverend community. He was pastor community. He was the one who knew what it meant to value gathering together with believers. He would pour himself into young believers. Chris talks about how he was mentored by Bill. but he just would pour himself. He was a great, he knew how to celebrate people in our community, and it was such a treasure to me, and very significant. The point is, is he understood the value of community. He single-handedly affected the nature of our entire church family. We were different because of his love for people.

19:05 He was an elder in the church, but he didn't have any pulpit kind of representation. amazing gift. Amazing gift. Jesus says, wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst. So in another sense, community is where Jesus likes to manifest himself. Community is where he unveils himself. It's not that I don't have a personal relationship. It's not that I don't have personal encounter. But things are exponentially increased in community. there are things you can get in a community of believers that you can never get on your own I believe in the personal relationship absolutely so but there's something about being together with other people laying down my own preferences my own rights whatever sacrificing to the point of fellowship now in Hebrews 13 turn to Hebrews 13 if you haven't I don't think I mentioned it to you how many of you just knew by word of knowledge to being besides Chris Hebrews 13 yeah yeah yeah Hebrews 13 I'm not going to read the amount that I did earlier just because we're hurting for time but I have plenty of time to do what I need to do so let's go down to verse 15 of Hebrews 13 verse 15 therefore by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name but do not forget to do good and to share for with such sacrifices God as well please please notice sacrifices plural so what do we have here he says number one don't neglect to offer the fruit of our lips, that which gives thanks to His name. Don't forget to give praise. So we do that. Every time we gather, it's our priority to minister to the Lord. We minister, we give an offering. We go beyond what's convenient. You've had a rough morning, you come in, if you're like

21:16 me, you raise your hands anyway, you sing, you declare His greatness regardless. It's a sacrifice. You go beyond convenience, and it actually changes the giver. It changes the person who is giving the offering. But then he goes on and he says, don't neglect doing good. Doing good are the good works. It's caring for the poor. It's visiting somebody in prison or the hospital. It's extending ourselves out in a sacrificial way to help somebody else.

21:47 Good works. Jesus said, let your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. We have the privilege of doing sacrificial things, not to draw attention to ourselves, but to draw attention towards the one who loves and forgives. And so that's the challenge. And here in Hebrews, the writer says, don't neglect this sacrifice. The praise is important, but it's also important. Do the good works in a way that touches people and directs them to the Lord. But this last sacrifice I find fascinating. He says to share. It's actually the word for fellowship. don't neglect praise, don't neglect sacrificial good works, but also don't forget fellowship, for with such sacrifices. So that tells me then there is an expression of fellowship, of community, of togetherness that enters a sacrificial dimension that brings the greater breakthrough.

22:52 fire falls on sacrifice the fire of his presence will always touch whatever we offer to him in glory it may be our words, it may be our skills our skill set, our work, our office, our home our families, whatever it might be everything that we offer to him continuously we repeat that devotion to him there's something about attracting the presence of God into that environment so imagine now fellowship you have three or four people over to the house you pray together, you share testimony doesn't have to be a duplicate of a service it's the fact that we make connection and Christ is our common bond and in that connection there's genuine value and celebration of another person when that is done outside of what's convenient outside of what is just fun for me but actually move into something that's designed to benefit somebody else. That realm of sacrifice not only attracts the Lord into that environment, but it does something in me as the offering giver, as the one who is being sacrificial. Something's happening in me that's endearing me to a level of presence and breakthrough I cannot find any other way. The Lord designs us in all aspects of life to discover.

24:14 For example, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because you are with me. What does that say? There's a measure of his presence that you can only find in the valley of the shadow of death. Every part of life gives access to greater breakthrough. And to have opportunity to, in this environment, to make connection that impacts our life and theirs is a missed opportunity for many. One of the scariest verses in the Bible for me, absolute scariest, is this verse out of Proverbs 5. I'll just read it to you. Proverbs 5, verse 14, if you're taking notes. I was on the verge of total ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation. I was on the verge of total ruin in the midst of the congregation.

25:12 there's a statement that's often credited to a couple different people Marilyn Monroe and then one of my favorite comedians his name slipped my mind at the moment but the statement goes like this the worst thing in life is not to be alone it's to be with people who make you feel alone and sometimes you have to be the one who initiates and it doesn't mean that I can't connect with every person neither can you but I can connect with somebody and I've got to make sure that my life not just from a pulpit I'm thankful for the position but real life happens on the one to one in the connection being in one another's homes workplace, in the marketplace, having fun together, doing the things that we do in life.

26:11 This family camp thing is awesome. So I just want to encourage and hopefully strengthen you today in the sense of the beauty and the wonder of community. If we could look at it this way, the simple privilege of being together is something he delights in so much, he wants to reveal himself right in the middle he wants to reveal himself there's something so tangible and special about that great privilege of community and the lord has actually called us chris brought this out a couple weeks ago and i'll end with this he brought out a couple weeks ago a great message on the great commandment i love the lord your god with all your heart soul mind strength and then he said to love your neighbor as yourself but then he pulled out the fact that Jesus, in John, I think it's 14 or 15, he says, I give you a new commandment. Well, the old commandment was love God with all your heart, so love each other as you love yourself.

27:11 But the new commandment was love your neighbor as Jesus loved them. That's a little higher notch than loving as you love yourself. And that was what he introduced is a new level. And that's what we're tapping into here is to be able to love and to care, to do what we're capable of doing to pour into other people's lives. It is so significant that it is described by Jesus as an evangelistic tool. he said they will know how many of you want the revelation of the saving grace of Jesus to touch our entire city they will know say that with me they will know they will know what they will know because if you're loved for one another they will be convinced of a Christ it's a powerful evangelistic tool I think I'm done.

28:15 I had more, but not now. No, sir, not now. I pray, and I forgot. I know, I remember. I'm getting coached, and I need to be coached. To be honest, I need lots of help. I'm getting little signals down here. We need flashcards, you know. I want to pray over you. Actually, before I do that, for last year, I've been planning on something to do this next summer, and that's to take a little sabbatical. I've been planning for like a year, and with what's going on in recent months, I thought maybe I should cancel it, but the elders of the church encouraged me to go for it and to do it anyway. so I've been doing this for 53 years I've never taken one so we've decided to create a church policy that every 50 years our staff our staff members what do you think I think I don't know how many years do you have to go Gabe 25 24 more years and you'll get a break man just stick in there actually the team which I really appreciate I just want to take a nap.

29:35 So I discovered in the Bible, if you eat a good meal and take a nap, it just fixes everything. So that's what I'm going to do. I actually was going to cancel it because of recent events, but the encouragement has been. So I'm looking to you to really stay strong and bold. But in a couple weeks anyway, I'll be disappearing for a short while. And then I will reappear and reintroduce myself. Why don't you stand? be faithful to the house family be faithful to the house let me just pray for you and then I'm going to get back I need to ask the question first though is there anyone here you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus but you want to you don't know what it is to be forgiven you don't know what it is to actually be adopted brought into God's family but you want to then I would put a hand up just right where you are. By doing so you're saying Bill I don't want to leave the building till I know I have found peace with God till I know what it is to be forgiven and part of God's family. If there's anyone here in that place just put your hand up real high.

30:46 Alright. I'm going to assume you're all in. Let me pray for you and then I'm going to ask ministry team quickly come to the front and John comes and helps us. Father give us the Holy Spirit inspired instincts of community for your glory. Amen. Amen. Yeah, I'm so glad that you watched this video. I do pray that it's a great, great strength and encouragement to you. And I've got a verse that really is my cry for all of us. And it's Psalms 20, it's verse 4. May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. That's my prayer. That's my prayer is that this would be the season of rich, rich fulfillment.