He Enables What He Commands | Bill Johnson | James River Church

foreign [Music] so good to be here my goodness I uh this place is contagious I mean in a good sense there's a holy spirit pandemic about to break out so good so are these guys amazing or what [Applause] all right Let's uh I have something very important to read so let me do that is can we get the lights up a little bit is that legal I know I I like seeing seeing you thanks I'm sorry if that ruins anybody's video so I I may not do that tomorrow night but uh an old geezer who had been a retired Farmer for a long time became very bored decided to open up a medical clinic put a sign up outside that said Dr geezers Clinic get your treatment for 500 if you're not cured you get back a thousand dollars Dr Young Who was a real doctor was positive this old geezer didn't know anything about medicine I thought it'd be a great chance to make some money so I went to Dr geese's clinic this is what happened Dr Young walks in and he says Dr Geezer I've lost all the taste in my mouth can you please help me Dr Geezer turns to the nurse says please bring medicine from Box 22 put three drops in Dr Young's mouth Dr Young screams out Ah that's gasoline congratulations you've got your taste back that will be five hundred dollars Dr Young gets annoyed he goes back after a couple days trying to figure out how to recover his money he walks in he says Dr Keith I've lost my memory I cannot remember anything Dr easer turns to the nurse please bring medicine from Box 22 put three drops in the patient's mouth Dr Young yells out oh no you don't that's gasoline congratulations you've got your memory back that'll be 500 dollars Dr Young having lost a thousand dollars leaves mad comes back after several more days he says my eyesight has become weak I can hardly see Dr Jesus says well I don't have any medicine for that so here's your thousand dollars back he looks at he says but this is only five hundred dollars congratulations you've got your eyesight uh I just think that's so funny so they've done medical studies and they have found that women who add a few extra pounds live longer than the men who mention it [Music] note to self let me mention a couple of the books that I have back there this one's called Born for significance um every every person is designed for Unique influence and impact on humanity and uh there he didn't make any mistakes and he created with a tremendous creative capacity and we all have access to the resource of Heaven to accomplish what he's assigned us to do so this is uh this is about mastering the purpose process and Peril of promotion uh because promotion carries such a price but it's such a glorious thing Open Heavens this is really about Revival reformation and Renaissance supposed to be building blocks and then the last one I mention is the power that changed the world this morning uh Pastor was kind enough to promote Dreaming With God this is part two of Dreaming With God this actually has to do with the role of wisdom in transforming culture and Society anybody here have a birthday today if you have a birthday today come forward [Applause] just pick just pick one Michael I'll need you to get some more books we got lots of birthdays all right you bet welcome Merry Christmas um anybody else yeah right here come here I'm gonna make you walk I'm supposed to stay inside the Border all right there you go Merry Christmas was there someone back here too yeah well yeah wherever you are Michael right here will take you back and get you one of the books just come on up come on be bold be courageous [Applause] hmm anybody else wish your birthday was today oh my all right uh grab your Bibles we're gonna look at uh God's word I want you to open to Mark chapter six and I'm getting to know you I'm gonna I'm gonna spot you in the crowd I can tell is there any other birthdays okay all right I want to make sure we get all the all the birthday people um I've got such a a fearful excitement for What's Happening Here I I really do I'm I'm nervous and happy both at the same time um Psalms 2 gives this command it says to Rejoice with trembling that's it's the oddest combination of expressions but I I have both of those going on inside of me because it's such a holy thing that he's doing I even hesitate to mention that because those kinds of phrases are used in hype so often but it is genuinely a work of God that that is happening here that could could birth something to truly affect the Nations you're already doing that as a church family your reach your impact is so significant but I I keep having this sense that there's a there's a there's about to be an elevation um I I can I can see it but I can't describe it if that makes any sense I I sat over here during worship uh again this evening especially this evening just having that sense that that you just you need to get ready and I don't know what to have you do get ready what do we do I don't know I haven't gotten that far yet yeah for us going back quite a few years when Randy Clark came and he's coming this week is one of my best best friends ever and when he first came to reading we had something significant happen and that we were seeing miracles in our corporate Gatherings and we were seeing things happen every week and and I met with him and told him what was happening and invited him to come and he said he was willing and he came and something happened that week where in his coming there was such a impartation of Grace imparted to our church family that the the Miracles went from weekly to daily and and there was a tremendous shift in that there were there were actually more miracles that happened outside of the corporate Gathering than inside it never stopped it increased insight but what happened outside and that's that's the mark for me that's the mark I mean I love when people come into the house and I love the privilege that we have to celebrate Rejoice together I I love it so much but I also know that and unless we can translate what we what we experience here into a corporate secular setting we will not succeed in bringing the transformation of all of us long for transformation doesn't come by going to Costco and holding a church service I don't mind if that happens I've told our folks I said listen when the spirit of God Falls in Costco call me call me I want to be able to come get on the microphone and say if you need Deliverance come to cash register number one you know you need healing your body come to cash register number two I mean I've already got it planned and and I love that that stuff happens out in in the public place but what's actually needed is to be able to translate the presence the power the effect of the Gospel on us translated into marketable is the wrong term and I don't like it but I'm going to use it here hopefully you'll give me the grace into a marketable something that communicates well to culture and society that we serve and love so well something that they have value for part of our problem in trying to reach the Lost is we tend to answer questions that they're not asking we see it with Saul when he was before he was King as a Young Man his dad had lost all their donkeys and he was sent out to find him so he went with his servant out to find the donkeys and they they look for several days they they couldn't find him finally Saul said my dad's gonna be more concerned about me than the donkeys if we don't get home and his servant said well there's go to let's go to the city over here because there's a prophet there he knows everything and so they go to Samuels as he's as as Saul is approaching Samuel basically announces your dog Keys have been found come back tomorrow morning and I'll tell you all that's in your heart he came back the next morning and Samuel prophesied that he would be king but listen to what happened here Samuel answered the question that Saul had so he'd be positioned to answer the question Saul should have had he should have had questions about his Destiny he's in the presence of a prophet none of his words fall to the ground and his concern was for donkeys so Samuel served on that level and in serving on that level positioned himself to answer the question he should have had I actually want to add on to what I did this morning it's not the same message or the same portion of scripture but the same concept of the renewing of the Mind the rendering of the mind is is so uh is so profound it's the target of the Lord I think is the target of the Lord for my life every single day of my life he's he's constantly trying to teach me how he thinks he's constantly trying to teach me how he how he perceives things what he values and he's he's working to expose me to his inner workings because that's what friends do and John he said I no longer call you servants I call your friends because the servant doesn't know what the master is doing the implication is Friends get to see the inner workings friends get to see behind the scenes the motivations the thought processes all of this stuff is within uh Within Reach of the friend and we are not friends with God because we sing the song we're friends with God friendship takes time takes interaction it's it's development of trust it's the ability to be quiet it's the ability to be bold it's the it's all these things work together to help us to become one that God would confide in he shares things to us that must be shouted from the rooftops and he sometimes share things with us that no one else is to know at least for a season and my capacity for silence is the most important lesson after I've learned the capacity for boldness I want us to read a story here that is very meaningful to me in the subject of the renewed mind so we're going to read quite a few passages so if you have your Bibles open to Mark chapter six did I tell you yeah glad you're here glad you're here yes I was Mark chapter six we're going to start with verse 30. the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things both what they had done and what they had taught stop right there let me give a context you remember Jesus sent his disciples out two by two and they would go to a particular City they would see extraordinary things happen so now they are returning from their missions trip and they're coming back to meet with Jesus and they are letting him know they're letting him see The Spoils of them functioning in his name verse 31 he said to them come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while for there were many coming and going and they did not even have time to eat so they departed to a deserted place in a boat by themselves but the multitude saw them departing many knew him and ran there on foot from all the cities they arrived before them and came together to him and Jesus when he came out saw a great multitude he was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd so he began to teach them many things when the day was now far spent his disciples came to him and said this is a deserted place already the hour is late send them away that they may go into the surrounding country in villages and buy themselves bread for they have nothing to eat and he answered and said to them you give them something to eat this is all of that story that we're going to read for for right now I love this story for so many reasons I guess I like all of them I highly recommend the entire Bible beginning to end I I I believe I believe everything that's in here I even the maps uh table of contents I mean just count me and I the whole thing's mine Jesus gathers his disciples together and they bring the spoils and they're tired all all Ministry is both exhilarating and exhausting and they're tired and they're looking for private time with Jesus so he says come on let's go buy ourselves to this deserted place and so they're pretty excited they get to go on a little cruise with Jesus to a deserted place and they get there and all the people from that side of the lake are now on this side of the lake and you can imagine as they're approaching sure they'll see their crowd they're like wait a minute that guy was right over there and so there's got to be a certain amount of frustration in the disciples are because their vacation just got stolen and so they get on land and of course Jesus does what he does he's moved with compassion again and so the disciples have a great idea in my perspective they want to validate and cooperate with Jesus's compassion thinking they have an insight to his compassion they come to him and say we're deeply deeply burdened for this crowd like you like you Jesus where we are concerned and we think you should send them we think you should send them away uh to surrounding Villages so they can buy bread and not die on their way home and thinking they they tapped into the compassion thing they um they got surprised as Jesus said you feed them you can imagine they're nervous laughter waiting for Jesus to break character and he doesn't you feed them what happens next is fascinating you can read the rest of the story on your own they sit down in groups of 50 and 100 the different uh stories of gospel writers give us additional details they sit down they find the loaves the fishes Jesus hands them out to the 12 disciples they go among the crowd and they feed them and then they collect the leftovers verse 45. thanks immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side to bethsaida he sent the multitude away and when he sent them away he departed to the mountain to pray when evening came the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land he saw them straining at rowing for the wind was against them now about the Fourth Watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea and would have passed by when they saw him walking on the sea they supposed it was a ghost and cried up they all saw him they were troubled immediately he talked with them and said to them be a good cheer is I do not be afraid then he went up into the boat to them the wind ceased and they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure and marveled here's our key verse for they had not understood about the loaves because their heart was still hard fascinating story they just have this multiplying of food which we made reference to this morning they had this experience with Jesus where the food multiplied and the multitude was fed And yet when they came to the next Story the next part of their Journey with Jesus they are facing a storm again and and Jesus comes walking on the water it's fascinating he planned to walk past them he actually doesn't plan to walk into every problem that we have he's confident in the fact he said you're going to the other side of the sea uh you're going to the other side out of panic and fear the disciples see him they cry out to him not sure who it is he comes calms the storm extraordinary story most of what you want in life excuse me most of what you need in life will be brought to you most of what you want you'll have to go get oftentimes Jesus is walking by but not walking too I hear many people say well God knows we are hungry for a Revival he knows where we live and it's one of the most insulting comments that we can make as believers because wives men wise men still travel it may be across town it may be to your neighbor's home maybe to another church is experiencing a great outpouring but the point is is that we expose ourselves to what God is doing in the earth we make it a priority we remain loyal to the house of God's put us a part of but we also understand that that God sometimes works in and through other people and it's important for us to honor the work of God upon them it's when you honor a prophet in the name of a prophet you get the prophet's reward when you honor what the spirit of God has chosen to do through another person or movement that's when you access what they bring to the game what they bring to the table and is that it's that kind of Honor that says it doesn't have to all start with me many people criticize and critique if you will moves of God simply based upon if that was of God he would have done it to me first oftentimes what we accept or reject is based on God's dealings with us instead of actually the dealings of God in Scripture what fascinates me about this story there's so many things but number one is in the story of the Loaves and the fishes Jesus turned to his disciples and he said you feed them and when they complained or when they objected because they didn't have enough food he didn't pull back the command listen to this he did not withdraw their assignment just because they didn't have enough food just because they didn't know what to do it didn't mean Jesus changed his plan he said you feed them one of the extraordinary postures of the renewed mind is the renewed mind lives with the realization that God enables whatever he commands one of the most important postures of the renewed mind is living with the realization God enables What He commands hmm in Luke 1 verse 37 is this uh decree for nothing will be impossible with God and one of the great great fathers of the faith in my life and for for many of us Jack Taylor wonderful man went home to be a Jesus I don't know two years ago and he would when my dad died my dad was the greatest encouragement in my life and um and when he died Jack told me he says I'll be there for you and he would write me constantly just words of encouragement and he was that for me but I remember hearing him speak um on this passage out of Luke 1. verse 37 for nothing will be impossible with God it was the most fascinating definition of that verse I'd ever heard he said he said number one the word nothing is actually two words in the original language the word no and it's the word Rhema nothing is no Rhema Rhema is a freshly spoken word of God so he begins to break down the meaning of this passage that really provoked me stirred me invited me he says nothing will be impossible impossible means without ability so listen to this here's Jack said this is how this verse could actually be translated no freshly spoken word of God will ever come to you that does not contain its own ability to perform itself come back tomorrow night and I'll say it again no freshly spoken word of God will ever come to you that does not contain its own ability to perform itself so when Jesus said you feed them he released the capacity to do the miracle fast forward they they see the the crowd fed and his leftovers tonight's message really only has one point I'll get to it soon hopefully they don't fly This Plane into the side of a mountain again as I did second service this morning but um hmm so the people are fed and then they get into a boat Jesus declares you'll be going to the other side and when they get in this boat they see Jesus walking of course he comes into the boat the storm stops and it says they were marveled and amazed because their hearts were hard regarding the loaves if you're if you were here this morning you remember what I talked about out of Mark 8 was that the miraculous is supposed to teach us how to think and how to see from a kingdom perspective it's supposed to alter the way I see reality I can't see problems the same way I did before I've seen a miracle there's something that shifts and so here are the disciples they see the miraculous multiplying of food and in Jesus's mind that was training for a storm see it doesn't have to be about food so a miracle be released about food what did they miss what did they miss in the multiplying of food they were perfectly obedient we have no record of any objection any unbelief we have no record of them disagreeing with your assignment they did exactly what Jesus said to do when they were through there was they didn't take the glory for themselves Jesus was celebrated and honored everything worked perfectly and yet from God's perspective that Hardness of Heart that made them incapable of dealing with their next problem are you guys with me on this it it almost like a disjointed uh like a dislocated joint they were they were incapable of of adequately dealing with the next challenge that they were facing and that was a storm what did they miss they missed the fact that the food didn't multiply at Jesus's hands and multiplied it theirs see Jesus didn't take loaves of fishes throw them in the air and go Shazam and create a big pile of food then you've got a riot instead what did he do he divided the small portion he had into smaller portions and gave it to the 12 disciples and as they went out the food multiplied in the giving Jesus said you feed them and they never caught the fact they actually did why was that important because Jesus also said you're going to the other side of the sea and they're in a boat and Jesus intends to walk past why he's not being cruel he knows that in the decree is the ability to fulfill the commission but they don't know it they don't realize that in in the decree was the capacity to do exactly what he said which was impossible we were doing uh Chris valton and I were doing a series of meetings down in Mexico we had a kind of a crusade thing which which I just rarely rarely ever do but we had this small little gathering of people in this Arena and preach the gospel and invited people to come to Christ and the first night we had about 70 people or so come forward we had two boxes of Bibles to give out so we take them behind the stage there's this little walkway that they have to go through it's on the way to come out from this area these two boxes of Bibles totaled a total of 96 Bibles we had to give up so we gave out the seven years old that were needed for that evening and the next night we forgot to bring more Bibles I didn't even know it till after the evening was over we invited people to come to Christ and there was about 200 people so that came forward they all went behind the stage they all had people ministering to them and prayed and then they lined up and walked past the remaining Bibles the guy was handing out the Bibles ran out with the last person because they actually multiplied in numbers we had a team was ministering with Ronald and Heidi in in a bakery in Mozambique and they're in this area where they uh they had a a group of people that they wanted to get bread for so they went down to the market and bought these little loaves of bread and wanted to have one to give to everyone but when they came back from buying the bread they had three bags when they came back the crowd had increased in size significantly and they looked at each other kind of in panic like what do we do we don't have enough do we break the uh break the lows up so that everybody gets a bite what are we doing somebody said why don't we just give everyone that we can a whole loaf and let's see what happens and you know the story it if everybody had food everyone was fed a whole of every person in the increased size crowd and they had excuse me they had two bags there were two-thirds empty and one that was one half and they could not give away enough loaves to empty their bags because it just it just if if we could hear the commissioning of the Lord and realize that he actually enables What He commands I mentioned this morning the disciples prayer that Jesus taught his his guys to pray Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven I believe that to be the Supreme the number one commission that every other commission falls under because every other expression that you find Matthew 10 heal the sick raise the Dead cast out Devils cleanse lepers all of that is an expression of on Earth as it is in heaven everything everything falls under that main commission and the main commission is to pray and is to pray with intelligence is to pray with focus is to pray with intentionality this is the heart of god so let's mirror the heart of God in our prayers part of the problem that we have is that we we pray things we pray things so abstractly that we can't recognize the answer when it comes or we pray for things that he's already done it's easy to take on the you know we want to be able to check the box that we've prayed you know we we want to be good at this Christian Life and so we're supposed to pray and so we check the box that we've prayed but we don't always pray with intentionality that Jesus designed us to pray and if I don't know how to recognize his answers I won't I won't be released into the joy that the answer brings see Jesus actually stated in John 16 he said and anything you asked for will be done that your joy might be full so his prescription for fullness of joy is actually through answered prayers and if I don't pray things specific enough tapping really into his heart and mind if I don't pray specific enough when the answer comes I won't recognize it and if I don't recognize the answer I'll get no joy from the answers to prayer I'll have to get my joy from the discipline of Prayer when I get my joy from the discipline of prayer instead of the answers to prayer every exalted form above power and that's where religion comes from praying things that move the heart of God that are also measurable in their answers critical for us we pray on Earth as it is in heaven well what does that look like Jesus told us demons leave that's how it shows up sickness leaves that's how it shows up there are measurable there are measurable ways that these these prayers are answered if I know nothing about the reality of his world I won't be able to recognize when his culture invades ours let me say that again it felt so good the first time I want to feel that good again if I don't understand the nature of his world when I pray because see when we pray on Earth as it is in heaven we're not just praying God destroy cancer there's no cancer there there's no demons there there shouldn't be anything we're not just praying that we're praying the reality of his world the way the relationships work the values work the atmosphere of presence and worship everything it rotates around the presence of God that entire cultural norm that exists there is supposed to come and influence this world but if I don't understand what that one's like I won't recognize it when it happens foreign is celebrated for who they are without being stumbled over for who they're not in every in heaven everyone is celebrated for who they are without us stumbling over who they're not there's there's a value system that exists there that is so unique everything everything rotates around the actual manifest presence of God nothing strangely Heaven is actually I this will probably sound heretical but it won't be my first time be patient with me Heaven is not just a location it's a person because there's nothing in heaven separate from him it wouldn't be Heaven if it were separate from him living in Christ is a foretaste these corporate times together of such such an invasion if I can use that term an invasion of the spirit of God into this place into into our very words our very physical response it's just absolutely glorious it's just it really is a four taste and I feel like the Lord you know it's Revelation chapter 4 verse 1 where he says come up higher I feel like that's the invitation that's in front of us right now is it's come up higher come up higher there's there's more there's more there's more and so learning how to recognize how his world functions and what his what his values are and actually expecting them to happen in relationships in in the way we do life in the way we view the world around us and the way we review The Way We view our responsibility as citizens of a community or a nation all of those things have a backbone in the nature of the king and his kingdom and the more we grow in our perception of the reality of his world the more we will be encouraged by answers to prayer that where things shift in a relationship where it used to be this way and now God has touched hearts and and it's different I mean we know what it is to celebrate peace and kindness and all that stuff but when there's a cultural shift see culture takes time when there's a cultural shift you've actually seen a momentum of Heaven affecting How We Do Life on planet Earth this story is huge for me because it illustrates for me how how a miracle in one in one realm um food I food and I get along very well we're we're like this we are best friends actually and coffee you know just throw a throwing coffee we call it Revival in a cup okay but the story is so critical because it shows me that I can experience something in God like the multiplying food and then be in a completely different context altogether nothing more different than a life-threatening storm than multiplying food and yet the DNA of this miracle was supposed to help me with the next challenge but when this Hardness of Heart to not perceive the Divine moment that I'm in the deposit that he's making in me to shift how I think shift how I perceive reality when I I can live in the middle of these Divine moments and miss and I don't mean to make anyone paranoid or or or too self-absorbed I I I don't like that as an option but I do want to throw out an invitation that the things that you and I are seeing in this day every one of them carry the nutrients for emotional and mental Divine health to alter our perception on how we see the world and how we see our assignment It's contained in the miracle in the multiplying of food was a Grace a perception That was supposed to help them fighting a storm our life is filled with this stuff our life is filled with this stuff we we can't afford to reduce our lives to that of spectators but the best we know how to engage fully in embracing the assignments of the Lord I love Matthew 10 where he says heal the sick who raised the Dead yeah it won't be all that's impossible the real problem is we think the rest of the Christian Life Is Possible [Applause] well Bill we we don't heal the sick we pray for this and God heals us I I know I get that it's just not what he said he has a habit of commanding us to do stuff we can't do either he's cruel or we know that's not true or he commanded us something that would ensure we would come into a place of dependency I may never do it well I just don't have the luxury of changing the assignment amen one last point I'll make and then well move into a time of prayer for people one of the things that I emphasize this morning is how that statement that from Jack Hayford where where what what Mary thought disqualified her is actually what qualified her and I feel like one of the things that's going to happen in this house is I know there are many new Believers I I'm so thankful for the constant bringing in of people to come to know Christ here it's such a wonderful thing but there are many people who have come into this place and are so happy to be belonged to a family but in their heart of hearts feel very very disqualified from what God is doing because we just don't have that sense of self-worth and I believe that the Lord is going to do a mighty healing and a Deliverance of that of that whole thing of disqualification where where we realize that the very thing that we thought kept us away from our destiny is the very thing he's going to use to launch us [Applause] when you look at the crowd that Jesus multiplied food for through the disciples hands you got that part right says it was from a boy's lunch what was the size of the crowd five thousand men not counting women and children so the child who didn't count the child who wasn't counted was the one who brought the Breakthrough brought the seed of the miracle I had a situation recently where the lord gave me a very very specific Direction and a promise and an intended outcome and I I can't go into it wouldn't be proper for me to go into the story but I I did everything I knew to do I did what he told me to do I did everything I knew to do I prayed the way I'm supposed to pray I prophesied that when I was supposed to prophesy I positioned myself for the the actual breakthrough that God had promised and when it was all said and done I realized all I had to offer him it didn't work the way I was expecting all I had to offer was Loaves and Fishes that if he didn't bring increase the Breakthrough would never happen and many of you who are involved in Ministry just doing the best you can talking praying with neighbors people that you work with you you feel ineffective insufficient in a sense when you're done at the end of the day just don't feel like you really got the kind of breakthrough that you hear the testimonies of and yet I'd like to say um welcome to the family you're the child with Loaves and Fishes and he's about to take what is insufficient for you and he's about to multiply at the field thank you so much for joining James River Church on our YouTube channel our prayer is that you were encouraged and your faith was strengthened today and we want to let you know that we'd love for you to be a part of our online family as well we'd love if you subscribe to our YouTube channel and press the bell for notifications you'll be so glad you did because we're always putting out great sermons new worship content and it helps you know when we go live for our weekly Services we hope you have an amazing day and thank you again for watching God bless

Channel: James River Church

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Keywords: james river church, church online, james river church sermons, bible story, holy spirit, online church, gods love, sermons on prayer, gods love for you, god speaking, god heals, online experience, worship experience, online worship, testimonies, Worship online, awakingening, revival, movement of God, bill johnson, pastor bill johnson, bethel church, week of power, bill johnson at james river church, bill johnson sermons, He Enables What He Commands, led by the spirit

Id: hjG6vi7Ra64

Length: 46min 20sec (2780 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 14 2023