Bill Johnson · Bethel Church · Published April 20, 2026
0:13 Let's read it again, verse 23. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. The emphasis without question is on the proclamation of truth. Now I don't think we have the luxury of just saying whatever we want. Even though there is life and death and the power of the tongue, the heart of the believer is to find what God is saying, to find his word in a given situation. But once we've received the word of the Lord in a given situation, it is up to us to make the proclamation that those things would come to pass.
1:12 I can just tell you out of my own experience, and I'm in the middle of the journey like everybody else, but out of my own experience, I've had a number of times where I have heard clearly from the Lord what his will was in a situation, and I have stood back, waited for it to unfold, and most of the time it doesn't until I step in and start enforcing, enforcing, decreeing, declaring what the Lord has spoken to my own heart. There is a role that you and I play, And for some reason, he has chosen to respond to the decree, the declaration of surrendered believers. Those who say that will of God, God being glorified is all I want. I'm going to take, I'm going to harness my own conversation. And I'm going to make sure that I proclaim that which you are saying, God. And in a given situation, making that decree.
2:03 Joel chapter 3 says, I think it's verse 10 says, let the weak say I am strong. Say that with me. Let the weak say I am strong. The reason he had to say that is when you need to say it is when you're least likely to say it. The reason it needed to be a command is because the times when it's the most effective in our life is when we're not prone to make that kind of confession or declaration. It's easy when, you know, when you've had this miracle and that miracle to stand up and say, I just feel so strong right now. I feel so mighty in God. And there are times where it just feels, I just feel that. I've been in situations where it just seemed like, boom, boom, boom, miracles happen here, there, and there. And I just feel so strong and powerful in the Lord, in the Lord. But there are other times, man, where it's, there's a fight going on and it's a struggle.
3:01 and it's the thing that I least feel like saying and yet that is when it is most necessary to be said. Bold confession. I am strong. My translation says, let the weak say, I am a mighty man. For women, of course, I am a mighty woman but I'm not going to make that confession because of the power of confession. I don't want anything to happen while I'm up here. Oh, I am a mighty man. How about this be a year? that we work hard to embrace what the Lord has declared over our life and make that the only thing we say. I don't mean you don't seek counsel.
3:55 I don't mean you don't bring a problem up and get advice. I don't mean that. Living in denial is not the solution. But there are times where we actually fuel and feed conflicts and problems in life. We make them bigger than they are because they're the topic of our complaint, topic of our conversation. and I feel like the Lord wants to just increase the use of a particular tool that he taught his own disciples that whatever you say you'll have the problem is we have much of what we've said Amen, Bill. Good point. I remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you know, they were thrown into this fiery furnace, and they made this confession, God will deliver us.
4:56 And then they said, even if he doesn't, we're not bowing. And I just, I like that approach. It's like, I've only got one option. He's it. There's no plan B. There is no plan B. There's plan A, A. I'm going with A. and there are certain moments and times in our life where there are situations that are coming up that just, you have circumstances that need to hear the word of the Lord. You have circumstances that need your proclamation of faith, your proclamation of what God has said.
5:37 I remember somebody asked a question. I think it might have been John Arnott, which, by the way, I fly to Toronto this week for the 25-year anniversary of the Toronto Outpouring. It's going to be so fun. Yeah. One big party. Yes, sir. It starts now. Yeah. but he asked this question once he said what's more powerful the word of the lord in jesus's mouth or the word of the lord in yours If it's the word of the Lord. it's equally powerful out of any mouth it's released from. And that may sound blasphemous to some, but Jesus...
6:30 chose to live with the restriction of being a human, even though he's eternally God. And he would only say what he heard the Father say. And it was all powerful, but it was because it came from the Father. And that same word coming through you and through me. I guess I just want to encourage you. Drive around town, make proclamations, make confessions over circumstances, over impossible situations. when you least feel like it is when it needs to be proclaimed and confessed the most bold. So he says, if you abide in me and my word abides in you. So here it is. It's the relationship with the spirit of God and the word of God. Those two things done well introduced me to my purpose, which is to what? To pray and have stuff happen.
7:23 Remember, my role is a co-laborer. I don't make things happen, but I respond to his heart. I respond to his mission. I respond to his word and make the decrees. God spoke the worlds into being. Let's look at it this way. God created the worlds we would live in through his voice. what world are you creating through your voice? This is a voice-activated kingdom. things have to be said and part of the problem is Chris did a great such a great message again this morning but he made this statement like 80% of most people self-talk 80% is negative self-criticism etc if that's what's in my heart, it will come out of my mouth.
8:41 And if that's what comes out of my mouth, it will undermine the prayer that I just prayed. I know there's abuse here, but there's only abuse because of its value. You don't find counterfeit pennies. You don't find counterfeit $20 bills. You find counterfeit $100 bills. Why? Because it's not worth counterfeiting something cheap. So when the enemy tries to copy something and distort something, it's God is saying pay attention because he just told you it's valuable. he's just put his stamp of recognition, this scares me, so I'm going to copy it and make something inferior, does that make sense, so this thing of confession and decree, prophetic decree, learning to hear from God, we're all learning, sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't, You get it wrong, clean up your mess.
9:50 Don't blame it on the other person. Well, you didn't get healed because you didn't have faith. No, the Bible says the prayer of faith heals the sick. You prayed, it was your job. you bind on earth what's bound in heaven but you loose what's loose there heavenly encounters increase our instinctive awareness of what we have the authority to release the more you live in that place of glory, deep affection, adoration. I'm not saying that everything will come by this incredible revelation. What happens oftentimes is we become instinctively aware of what we have access to and what we have the authority to release.
10:48 It's good. Binding and loosing that combination is like one of the most elemental parts of our life and ministry. it was revealed at the same level of the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. It was in the same dialogue.
11:41 It was in the same conversation. Peter says, you're the Christ. You're the Son of the living God. And Jesus introduces them to their responsibility. I first learned this I mentioned earlier I've been trying to live this for a long time never being really confident or comfortable enough to teach it but I'm going to from this point on and where I learned it was a friend of mine I remember sitting in my office with my friend He was going through a horrible, horrible lawsuit. And it was a lawsuit that the other party could afford. And they literally were using to torment him because it was draining him of finances. And he didn't have the money they did.
12:38 And they were using it. It wasn't a legitimate lawsuit. Eventually, you know, he's going to win. But it's just draining him. And he's literally being tormented with this lawsuit. And so we had prayed together about this. We had prayed God. I prayed with him. Father, just release. You know, your miracle settled this thing. And we prayed many times. It had been going on for like six months. And then I saw this particular truth. And he came in the office. I believe it was that afternoon. And we prayed again. And I said, we're going to pray different. I'm going to bind the spirit of injustice, and we're going to loose the spirit of justice. This is exactly what happened. We prayed together in my office there in Weaverville. We prayed, I bound the spirit of injustice, and I loosed the spirit of justice.
13:38 I believe it was within two hours he called me. He said the whole thing's been canceled, been dropped, the whole thing. so obviously you make a mental note then because we're all trying to learn and so I'm telling you now, pay attention. You don't want to just clean, sweep the house and get it cleaned out. Make sure that something of the Lord is put in place.
14:08 Empty places invite the enemy. That's why Eastern meditation is so bad, because you empty your mind. In the kingdom, you fill your mind in meditation. In humility, receive the word implanted, which is able to sozo your souls.
14:32 Receive the word, in humility, receive the word implanted. You know, you want to find an exciting read, just take a proverb a day, a chapter of Proverbs every day, And just try to find every time it talks about health or healing, anything to do with physical strength, and you will find a continual flow of information about the word of God, that which God speaks in our healthy, our condition, emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. It's all connected. Listen to this. My son, give attention to my words, incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart. Why? They are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. What God says is health to all your flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence. Out of it flow the issues of life. The book of Proverbs is from one end to the other. It talks about this life-giving word that God gives to us. But when When you approach the word as something you're going to dissect, instead of something that's going to dissect you.
15:43 We often study looking for information to reaffirm what we believe. instead of reading the word to be transformed. It's a living word. It's alive. This is Jesus' imprint. parts of the recipe are for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten psalm and another part of the recipe is if you don't die you can't follow me i mean it's it's that's the way it is pick up your cross then come In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul.
16:40 Interesting, in 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, he said, the word of God carries... the word it uses here is effective. It's the effective word of God in your heart. The word for effective is the energy of God. So picture it this way. God's energy, and he doesn't run out. When it's windy, he doesn't shut it off. Fires don't scare him. The energy of God is contained in the word that he speaks. here's the deal we had one of our guys was sharing this morning a great testimony we had some students and all in Texas and Joel Power gave this word of knowledge pointed to a lady and said do you have a son name starts with the letter J and God is healing something with his brain come to find out the son as Joshua has autism, has never spoken.
17:58 And when she got home, he spoke in complete sentences and answered her. Now, you can say those words from now until Jesus comes home and have nothing happen. But when they originate in the heart of the Father, and all of us want to say life-changing words, but first you have to hear life-changing words. See, he's got the heart to change, to shape the course of history, to change lives of people around us. He has the desire. He doesn't lack the vision. He's already put everything in motion for there to be solutions. He's just waiting for people like you and like me that will hear and then say what he's saying. All right, Hebrews 4. We'll make this our last portion of Scripture.
18:54 Hebrews chapter 4. This is a contrast, a comparison between the New Testament church coming into a place of rest, the place of absolute unity in Christ, and Israel trying to get into the promised land. So it's a contrast. And the promised land is referred to as a place of rest, okay? So it has this prophetic imagery. So listen to this, verse 2. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. All right, two things I want to draw your attention to. Number one, he says, the word they heard didn't profit them.
19:51 What does that imply? Every time God talks to you, he wants you to profit. And don't reduce it to a raise at work. It may include money occasionally, but it's not about that. It's about life. It's about the life of God coming into us in a way where things just work, things function as they were designed to function. so he said the word did not profit them not being mixed with faith look down at verse six since therefore remains that some must enter it those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience all right just think with me did they not enter because of disobedience or because they didn't unite the word with faith in the end. Do you see what it says there? It says they failed to enter because they didn't unite the word with faith.
20:45 And then it says they didn't enter because of disobedience. So what is it? Yes. Two sides of the same coin. If you evaluate your faith, you'll never do anything. It's the wrong place to look. I cannot put any attention on whatever level of faith I have or don't have. My only question is what does he want me to do? Because I can always obey. You can obey your way into great faith. The question isn't, do I have enough faith? The question is, what did he say to do? Am I supposed to act? Am I supposed to go? Am I supposed to give? Am I supposed to rest? Am I supposed to pursue? Am I supposed to fast?
21:36 What am I supposed to do? That's all I need to know. Because I can obey myself into great faith. There's this verse in Proverbs. Let me read it to you. I've been thinking about it a bit. It says, a man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. I don't know. I have felt for a while this verse has been kind of impacting me a bit. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. You understand that it's a small key that opens a big door. And every once in a while we find these phrases that might be easy to overlook when in fact they are connected to so much of the reality of God in our life.
22:33 if we can just simply capture the power of that simple key. A man will be satisfied with good. Emotionally, socially, intellectually, spiritually, nourished, full, abundantly, and is determined by what first came out of the person's mouth. In other words, the measure for what I received, at least in this context, is set by what first comes out of my mouth. first by what comes out of my mouth. So life and death is in the power of the tongue. Some things have to be said.
23:28 This has been a part of our culture for as long as I can remember. But I still feel like I need to review this one. Here's the deal, Psalms 91. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge. He's my strength. He is my God in whom I will trust. It says, I will say of the Lord. It doesn't say, and I will think of the Lord. it doesn't say I will contemplate of the Lord. It says I will say, because some things just need to be said. Some things need to be said. I have found for me, it's a strength for me when I'm in a rough place. In fact, Benny and I will sit together on the couch. We'll pray together and we will make this statement. We trust you, Father. You are our refuge. You are our strength.
24:20 You're our hiding place. We trust you. We trust you. and make the decree, make the proclamation. Don't let it be passive. Don't let it be just some passive comment of agreement. It's no. Apparently, things come into my life by what comes out of my mouth. And so I am going to make a decree. I will say of the Lord, and I am in fact saying it now, the Lord is my refuge. He is my hiding place. He is my dwelling place. And in him, I will trust. I will trust. I don't have a plan B. There's no other options. I serve one God. No options. the scripture actually teaches that what comes into our life comes through a measurement set by your decrees the scripture says he inhabits the praises of his people his amen to my recognition of who he is putting it in word form as he comes and he establishes throne upon the praises of his people if God occupies my praise who occupies my complaints Words are covenants.
25:57 Words are partnerships. They're agreements. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only words that are good for edification, that it might, according to the need of the moment, that it might give grace to those who hear. All right, let me slow it down. Encouraging words, according to the need of the moment, that it might give grace. What is grace? Grace is divine favor. are you making the connection you bring an encouraging word and god says i will bring divine favor to whoever you encourage now that's stunning that's stunning i i i've been watching i've been watching this for the last several years uh almost by accident uh benny and i've had several situations where just good friends of ours were really in crisis really in trouble and in a couple of the situations it was economic and so we were able to help them so we did we just gave them some money and we've had people come to us now on at least two and maybe three occasions where they've come and they've said they said Bill you gave us that money and as soon as you did work opened up for us or this happened or and they would start talking about all the stuff that started working out for them Now, don't misunderstand. I don't think it's because the pastor did something that God said, all right, now there's real authority. I think it's this grace thing. I will add grace. I will add divine enablement to whoever you encourage. And like attracts like. And when there is a financial gift where we work to love somebody, to serve somebody, to help somebody, I've watched this. Things open up in their lives in other areas where God just starts pouring favor into their life. I've seen it with this thing of favor too, where there's people, you know, an individual that may not stand out in a crowd. And most of us probably feel that way in some measure. It's
28:03 different once you have the microphone, but as far as the way we esteem ourselves and see our giftings and all, we're pretty much all just part of a big crowd. And yet what happens is I've noticed if I take the time to just select somebody and just pour into them, give them encouragement, maybe prophesy to them, maybe just a little extra time just to pray for them. What I've noticed is other things start happening in their life where they start getting breakthrough. They start getting favored. Not because I gave them favor, but because God is adding that grace element to their life because I took time out of my focus to isolate that individual and to pour out on them. Is this making any sense to you? This is amazing to me because this is what Jesus is saying here, the prophet Isaiah under the anointing of the Spirit of God is saying, go to those who are fearful hearted and tell them, don't be afraid. Stop it. Stop it. Those who are weak in their knees, just stand next to them. Make sure that you undergird them and tell them, don't do that fear thing because that's going to mess you up. And then come to them and say, God's going to vindicate you. Start declaring the promise. Start prophesying, if you will, over them the promise of the Lord for their situation. Look at verse 5. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened.
29:20 Let me read that again. Now, you may have missed that. Strengthen weak hands, say to the filth, be strong, don't be afraid, etc., etc. Verse 5. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. The lame will leap like a deer, the tongue of the dumb will sing, for waters will burst forth into wilderness. So waters in this is the prophetic language for the bounty of the spirit of God having an effect on this spirit, soul, and body of a human being, of a person. So the Lord is saying, you say, be strong. You say, don't be afraid. You say to somebody, you're amazing. You say to somebody, God's going to deliver you. He's going to vindicate you. He's going to provide for you. something's good is about to happen in your life you say this then i will come and do what you can't do the eyes of the blind will be open the ears of the deaf will be open you do what you can do and you will draw me into the situation to bring about what was formerly impossible do you see this it's this partnership again glory to god in the highest and on earth it's the connection it's the partnership of what god wants to do here he does through yielded willing vessels that just simply believe, not in their own significance. I believe in all that, but I'm not impressed with that. I'm really impressed with his significance. I'm really impressed with the fact that he could choose you and me and actually decide to work in us and through us. That's stunning to me. I still, I still shaking my head this morning at how much God loves people. I mean, I just, I think I get it. And then something else happens. I go, oh man, I'm just getting started in this help me please his love for people is so great Erica talked with one of the women in the church here talked about her and then introduced her just a few weeks ago and it was one of the ladies in the church I forget the full story but I think she was addicted to drugs homeless and just a bunch of stuff had just really gone sour in her life
31:25 and just really really struggling and she was here She's now got a job. She's got a home. Things are going well in her life. And it's a real testament of God's redemptive touch. So Eric did what Eric does. He interviewed her. He just wanted to hear the story, which he's so good at this. He says, just tell me your story. And she gives the story. And it started when one of our students was walking through, I think it was Lake Reading Park, and saw her there and came up to her and said, you're amazing. that's what they said you're amazing and Eric asked her when did the change begin in your life because she was addicted to drugs alcoholic, something in that area and then she's homeless she's got all these issues going on really struggles in life and things turned around for her when did it start?
32:23 she said oh it started when the student said you're amazing what happened you know if you can imagine the father just waiting for this student to encourage someone and he goes he goes to someone that the father loves so much anyway but he's he's he's decided to partner with people see the government's on the shoulders it's not on the head this government is a government of liberty and freedom and he's just waiting for those he has assigned to be distributors of liberty and freedom to do what they're supposed to do and his student walks up with such a simple word and looks to somebody who's so broken up and says you're amazing and that was the day things started to change their life And today she's just a real model of God's restorative work. He says, say to the fearful hearted, don't be afraid.
33:25 See the ones that are feeble and he's just, you know, just undergird them. Just stand with them. Declare. God's going to vindicate you. He's coming in strength. then then the eyes of the blind will be open.
33:47 The lame, wall, the deaf, hear. I love this passage so much because it shows the brilliance of God's design and his partnership for him to work with broken people, people like you and me that his grace, his blood just qualifies me. He qualifies me. He qualifies me for gifts. He qualifies me for all of this to see people taste and see what liberty is like, what freedom is like. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. I don't know if you've ever thought about that. I've pondered, meditated on that verse before, that a person will be satisfied with good. It's describing like eating a meal. It's describing like at the end of a wonderful meal, you're so thankful and satisfied and appreciated from what you just had.
34:44 But here he's saying that satisfaction can come by the words that come out of your mouth. That you actually, your speech determines what you're going to be eating. your speech, what you and I say to one another, what we say to that person who looks like they're not doing well in life, but we have that moment to speak to them. Those words determine our meal. They determine what we're going to be feeding on. And oftentimes we miss the opportunity or we speak incorrectly towards a person, just to vent instead of to really say what the Lord is saying to them. And when we do that, we end up with a dissatisfied soul because we're having to eat in life. We're having to eat from the table we just spread. So there's an encouragement for you.
35:41 Look for the people that need words of strength and encouragement and speak that to them. Move on down to verse 17. He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness deceit. There's one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. There's an interesting phrase. The tongue of the wise promotes health. Now, I don't get this yet. All I know is that month after month, I go through the book of Proverbs, and it always stands out to me how often speech affects health. speech affects health. We should get it. It says life and death is in the power of the tongue. How often we have said, oh, I'm so dumb. Why did I do that? We say things, our body doesn't recognize when we're joking. Our body doesn't recognize when we are just trying to be light, random.
36:46 is life and death and the power of the tongue. And the tongue promotes health. And that's the word of God. And elsewhere it talks about that the life actually flows from our speech. And so I want to encourage you here. The tongue of the wise, so it's words of wisdom promotes health. My goodness, every family,
37:12 members of a family, determined to speak words of wisdom in that household actually increases the level of health experienced in that family, in that business, in that church. Move on down to verse 24. I like whenever I see the word diligence because there's that extra effort involved. It says the hand of the diligent will rule. That's true. Those who put in the extra effort are always the ones that are promoted. And then we're going to get down to verse 25, a scary verse to me. It says, anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression. So many people, so many believers are just struggling painfully with depression, with discouragement constantly. It used to be a big battle for me all the time. I'd always compare myself and never came up good. And anxiety is what weighs the heart down and gives weight to depression.
38:09 So here it is. Anxiety in the heart causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. Sometimes that good word is spoken by us to ourselves. You know, the Bible says, let the weak say, I am strong. So what does that mean? It says, in this moment where I feel weak, I'm declaring over myself, I'm strong. I am strong. Sometimes that good word that we need to hear actually needs to come out of our own mouth. And I want to encourage you, anxiety in the heart causes depression. A good word makes it glad. And every one of us were designed to have hearts that were happy and filled with life, overflowing with joy. That's the design of the Lord for us. Part of that is stay away from anxiety. You learn to deal with fear effectively. You deal with fear by coming into the Word of God to find out what He says. And then the good Word makes the heart glad.
39:03 I bless you with that. I pray.
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