Love Versus Fear - Bill Johnson (Full Sermon) | Bethel Church

Wow not a good day well I'm so excited about that children's album that's just they keep putting out cool stuff baby powder colored powder and all it's just all beautiful it's so I encourage you to watch the original video I think in the leaders advance this week Eric had the suggestion that we play both because I I think it would minister so deeply to leaders all around the world and that's our goal is just to encourage so wow I've got a couple things that I thought were funny I don't mean to brag or anything but this is like the fifth end of the world I've survived I think that's funny I've got another I don't mean to brag but I finished my 14-day fast in three hours and twelve minutes [Laughter] that's that's a good one I like that I saw when this last week it said said I think there should be a calorie refund for everything you've eaten that you didn't think was that good was it as good as you expected I thought that's perfect though I'm in for that one I like this one I hate salad for dinner and mostly croutons and tomatoes really just one big round crouton covered with tomato and sauce and cheese fine it was pizza it was peace I ate a pizza so funny find every successful person is a substantial amount of coffee that's a all right let's so open your Bibles to Isaiah 51 and we're gonna we're gonna start there Isaiah 51 here's what I'm gonna do I wanna I want to talk to you about love versus fear everything you hear and receive into your life gets filtered by love or fear everything that flows from us is affected by love or fear our reaction responds to all the issues around us either take place out of love or fear they're the two defining elements of a person's life oftentimes what we recognize is happening around us of those who are motivated by love we'll pick up on the good news see the hand of God at work those who are controlled manipulated by fear will always recognize the works of darkness and it doesn't mean recognizing the work of darkness means you're motivated by fear but those are still the end results and so what I want to do is I want to talk to you about this issue of fear and and the reason is because it's the number one command in Scripture that's it's repeated him often than any other do not fear and when the Lord repeats a command as frequently as he does throughout this entire owners manual it's because he's exposing or revealing the number one tactic that the enemy uses to disengages from our life source he can't cut me off from from from my life source in the sense of I have a relationship with God but in the same way that you can have a dislocated arm where you no longer have full use of it he wants me to be out of function out of my role out of usefulness and fear does it fear is where we actually agree with the enemy and anytime you believe a lie you empower the liar and so what the Lord does is he's exposing the dicks of the enemy I'd like to become devil focus that's it's really boring to me and it's it's unappealing and there's nothing I like about it but but Paul does say I don't want you to be unaware of the devil's devices so that's an important thing that we realized that tools that he use when the Lord says do not fear he's never saying it to expose what we're doing wrong in other words it's not a shame deal it's not a look at you you're blowing it again what he's doing whatever he says do not fear he's opening up to us that within reach is the grace to be victorious over fear it's never a command we're here go take care of this it's always a partnership when he gives commands he empowers us to do what we previously couldn't do it's the nature of grace grace enables grace empowers and so when the Lord says do not fear he's merely saying okay right at this moment there is within reach the capacity the grace for you to deal with this that's come against you having the experience of fear the emotion of fear is not a sin partnering with it is embracing it as though it were truth I mean though there's a difference between facts and truth there are things that are true that aren't truth you know a doctor's report don't pretend it's not there for doctors reporters is their earnest they've discovered something wrong denial won't help you he knows what it is but then coming to truth that deals with the fact that Jesus is already taking care of that here's the cool thing about promises Bob Hayes let when he was with us here I think a month ago he made a comment that really has got me stirring and and it was something to this effect that whenever God gives us a promise wait here look it this way God is outside of time we are in time whenever he gives us a promise it is already done in his realm it's already a finished completed thing and so what we do is we pray we obey we cooperate we do the things that he's a sign first because we actually are used by the Lord to help bring the release to the break that we pride out for sometimes we have a role in seeing break through sometimes our only job is to observe and it's it's frustrating to try to figure out what season you're in because and the only way I know is is to and to try something and have it not work then I go hoops apparently it's the other season because there's two basic options one is the violence violence the faith is violent the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence the violent take it by force the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence the violent take it by force when that season is going on in our lives it's because the Lord is emphasizing our authority he's wanting us to come face to face with how he's equipped us to be continuously victorious over the powers of darkness but there's another season and you can't do both at the same time the second season says Jesus says in mark 10 unless you receive the kingdom as a child you cannot enter it so in one season you're violently taking that's the expression of faith but in the other season you're in a place of rest where it's brought to you I mean you can't do them both the same time you get a whiplash you hurt yourself in the second season the emphasis is not your authority as a warrior the emphasis is on your child likeness that receives an inheritance it's something that's done for you and these promises though the Lord has given us to really steer us empower us to deal with the fear issue actually come in both realms they sometimes come as that commissioning or that that compelling charge to pray with fasting to make the decrees fight the fight fight the good fight of faith do whatever is necessary to see this fear issue defeated so that you can stand in absolute confidence but other times it's a grace thing it's just a great thing that it's always grace but it's a great thing and that it's sovereignly is released you as a gift you didn't even fight for it there's no work involved both are necessary and there's so anyway that's kind of what we're going to look at today I want you to look at Isaiah 51 did I take where to turn yes no some of you heard me some of you didn't Isaiah 51 I've got I've got a couple passages here three actually that we're going to read to try to identify why the enemy has had such a focus in that area because if I understand why he's made a priority of promoting fear then it will help us to have the resolve to keep insulated from things that we've been vulnerable to all right Isaiah 51 verse 12 I even I am he who comforts you who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die or the son of man who will be made like grass and you forget the Lord your maker who stretched out the heavens lays the foundations of the earth you have feared continually every day go back to verse 12 I even I am he who comforts you who are you to fear that's an interesting approach to fear you would think that the father would come and Pat us on the back and massage our egos and say oh here here I'll take care of everything for you everything's fine he actually stands before us and he says I'm the one who comforts you have you noticed my size who do you think you are being afraid who do you think you are did you actually think it was about you sometimes we need a wake-up call like that that that isn't the sympathetic Pat that we thought we are going to get and instead it's the jar into the reality oh when I choose fear I'm choosing the inferior over the absolute manifested presence of God who is here to defend me in any in every situation fear is embracing the inferior who do you think you are being afraid that nobody look at look at Isaiah 54 Isaiah 54 is a great verse I fear that verse 13 is a prayer that I've prayed over my own children still do I've been praying for probably 39 years verse 13 all your children will be taught by the Lord great shall be the peace of your children verse 14 in righteousness you will be established you will be far from oppression for you shall not fear look at that phrase you will be far from oppression why because you won't fear what is oppression oppression is that moment where we make agreement with a lie and we invite the atmosphere of darkness to influence our thoughts and our values it's actually a cloud of darkness that comes when we believe the lie yes bill it's a very good point when here's an interesting thing fear doesn't start off oftentimes doesn't start off as a spirit a spirit of fear sometimes it's just it's just a simple emotion I mean no you can you can work yourself into fear without the devil being you know 100 miles away I mean we you know we don't need him to be stupid I don't how to speak for yourself so some sins we always we we think are spiritual but actually oftentimes they start in in the natural realm and the extreme example of this in Galatians 5 actually refers to witchcraft as a sin that starts as a sin to the flesh that's just bizarre I mean here's this you know cultic involvement the demonic all this world swirling about a person who's involved in witchcraft the scripture says it starts off as a sin of the flesh what is witchcraft in its basic form it is the want to be in charge and to control your environment so that you remain in charge is the absence of trust in God and it starts as a sin in the flesh it becomes supernaturally empowered and eventually becomes very demonic becomes a stronghold of the demonic does that make sense to you the same is true with fear fear oftentimes just start says I got a bill in the mail that that I didn't expect and I don't have money for I'm you know you can you start feeding into that thing and pretty soon in no time at all you're just you're just buried in fear and worry anxiety all the junk that all of us face every one of us deal of this stuff and so we get buried in that thing and it actually invites the spirit realm to come in and reinforce and it becomes a much or battle than it was when we were just dealing with our own discipline one more passage I want you to look at it's in Philippians chapter 1 and then I want to talk to you for a little bit Philippians one's one of my favorite ones on the subject of fear verse 27 says let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or am absent I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel here's the verse not in any way terrified by your adversaries which is to them proof of perdition but to you of salvation now think through this verse this is really powerful not in any way terrified by your adversaries which is to them proof of eternal judgment so think through this every time you and I are victorious over a fear issue what is broadcast on the PA of Hell of the powers of darkness is pending doom absolute eternal judgment and they try to get you to fear so they don't have to think about what's coming I've got some really good news for error just recently every everytime we are victorious over the fear issue what happens is the enemy all the powers of darkness come face to face with the fact that they are eternally doomed and there is no solution and that's what the victory over fear does is it pronounces it announces it reminds what is coming their way no wonder the powers of darkness work so hard to get us in fear both to dislocate us and our sense of effectiveness but also to erase from their thinking what they are facing that's amazing so here's here's the deal fear absolutely kills us fear absolutely messes us up and the worst possible way because it it connects us it connects us to a lie so I've got just a series of questions I've got to make this in briefer in this service but I've got just a series of questions and here's the first one what are you doing pertaining to the fear issue pertaining to the temptation to entertain thoughts negative thoughts really cause you to become a weak and fearful how many of you you've become so fearful of something so anxious over something you kiddin get it out of your mind you couldn't stop thinking about it all evening long into the night it kept you up at night how many of you have lost sleep over thinking stupid things alright so we know you know how to meditate [Applause] so now we just need to change the subject that you're focusing on you're gonna feed yourself on that which kills you're gonna feed yourself on that which gives life and it is a choice it is a choice there's this strange thing I've noticed I've noticed creeping up in me everyone saw it lifts up its ugly head this strange thing about predicting something wrong so that you have a confidence that you know what you're talking about did that make sense if it didn't don't worry about it just flush but if it made sense to you it's just not right it's not right people do it all the time in the church they they prophesied tragedies coming and this and that so that they appeared discerning when tragedies come was that the goal to be discerning or to actually affect the course of history if you want to affect the course of her history and you see something negative coming start praying so that you can change what's coming it's the same thing with fear you know people Jackie if it be the statement years ago that really rocked me said how how would you treat a friend who lied to you as often as your fears do that was a joke bad bad joke but it was a joke so here's the question what are you doing turned in foot to first John chapter 4 he's probably the most well-known passage on unfair lease for many of us first John chapter 4 first John chapter 4 starting in verse 17 love has been perfected among us in this that we have boldness in the Day of Judgment that's an amazing thing because as he is so are we in this world but I'd love to bring that subject up again but not today there is no fear in love verse 18 perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment but he who fears has not been made perfect in love jump down to verse 20 it's all in the same thought if someone says I love God and his brother he's a liar he who does not love his brother whom he can see how how can he love God whom he cannot see the whole point is is that when we confess we have a spiritual experience a reality in the unseen realm it has to be measurable in the scene how we treat the natural world actually illustrates and exemplifies what we are claiming to have happened in our own personal lives so if I say I love God but I don't love people then I'm lying all right so what is he saying here perfect love casts out fear I've only had half this equation settled in my in my thinking in in recent years anytime I've made reference to this verse perfect love casts out fear the emphasis has been on making sure that I'm in a place to receive that loving touch from God why because that love gets up here it's true but it's only partially true why butthis the scripture says perfect love the word perfect there's the word complete love that has made complete casts out fear when he goes on in the discussion he talks about us loving people so in other words I have to give away what I've received in order for it to be complete and it's only that kind of love that casts out fear it's not just my experience on a prayer line or through a fire tunnel it's the experience I've had with God that has been translated into how I treat people here's the bottom line what are you doing what are you doing pertaining to the issue of fear what are you doing this the scripture compels us serve somebody stop waiting for another conference stop waiting for another prophetic word stop waiting for another person to come and massage your ego or help sympathize with tragedies that you've faced you know at some point we have to stop being impressed with the size of our problem and our deliverance begins at the moment we're no longer impressed with the size of our problem and that's the challenge for every one of us saying and some of you say well you don't know what I've gone through no that's that's true and if I did I would probably buckle or be as as as challenged as as your strong guy I wouldn't ever want to discount that I just saying none of us want to stay there so let's get out and the way you get out is you find someone to serve that's worse off than you you love has to become practical where it becomes demonstrate so what are you doing what are you thinking what are you thinking about because if I'm fueling the lie I've agreed with the liar and tragically I've empowered the liar so he only comes to kill steal and destroy so when you empower the liar there's always lost in destruction as a result so there has to be a point where find the scripture of word of promise read the Bible till he talks to you and when you find that verse of scripture memorize it write it on a card you may have to pull it out 50 times a hundred times in one day and quote it pray it declare it sing it but just take some responsibility take some responsibility for the very fact that the enemy is intimidated by your success and he hopes to dislocate your effectiveness by causing you to fear that's what he's doing he does not want to be reminded of eternal judgment that's why he has targeted you targeted me to fall into this issue of fear so taking personal responsibility what are you doing serve somebody what are you thinking think what God says Paul wrote us in in the most horrific situation possible here's here's a guy here's a guy who writes everywhere I go people want to kill me that has to affect your approach on travel here's he says everywhere I go they want to put me in Chains you know he's got this group that follows him they just they i all they want to do is kill him I mean they stoned him they've done all this stuff tried to kill him he said 39 lashes I forget how many times the guys just you know he's he's got some reasons to be depressed and here he's in a prison he's in a hole in the ground that makes they been in the hole that he was at in Rome and he writes this letter that says rejoice again I say rejoice he found how to beat the fear thing he found something powerful anybody can rejoice when they have joy in the kingdom you rejoice to obtain joy you actually caused your thought life your emotional and your physical body to align with what God has made available and in that yielding in that sacrifice in that obedience brings a release of profound joy fear can't connect itself it's like you become Teflon nothing sticks nothing sticks of that realm of fear so the question is you know what do you what do we what are we thinking what are we doing what are we praying you know Jesus said come to me all you who are weary heavy laden I'll give you rest there's a profound picture of exchange if when you pray you don't leave refreshed you probably weren't praying you were complaining because the whole point of prayer is that you're supposed to get his heart and he's going to take yours he's gonna take your junk and give you his good and that's the exchange that's the that's the deal the prayer so if you walk into the presence and you walk out as frustrated as if when you went in you might want to think about how you're praying so what what what am i doing what am I thinking one of my prime the last ones found in Joel chapter 3 what am I saying sometimes our efforts at transparency and honesty are so destructive I mean I and I want people to be honest you know if I ask somebody how they're doing it they're having a horrible day I don't I'm not offender at all if they said man I'm having a rough day but if that rough day becomes a week in a month in a year in five years in ten years it's not a rough day anymore it's a rough life and it to be honest yeah I I don't mind if somebody who is negative fakes it because they're more pleasant to be with just between you and me but in Joel chapter 2 is a very interesting passage chapter 3 excuse me he says proclaim verse 9 Joel 3 verse 9 proclaim among the nations prepare for war wake up the mighty men let all the men of war draw near let them come up beat your plowshares into swords your pruning hooks into spears let the weak say I am strong the Lord I don't mind if somebody's just trying to encourage himself and they just make up positive things too you know I'm gonna succeed I know I've failed but I'm gonna succeed I think that's healthy I don't mind it at all in fact it just makes you more pleasant to be around but when God says let the weak say I am strong he has opened up a realm of grace a realm of empowerment that is released to you the moment you speak what he said to speak in other words strength becomes the reality when it's declared you know I understand there's there's been a lot of abuses in the confession thing I understand that but it doesn't erase the reality it's in the Bible I know that we don't like abuses like the abuses and some of the confession streams stuff I understand that I don't think living in denial if you have a bad medical report living in denial is not gonna help help it go away I think acknowledging what's there but then anchoring your heart into truth which is superior of fact I think is the way to go declare what God is saying over your life I think it's very important even if it doesn't look like it right now declare what he's saying it's just it's just final so I believe in the transparency I believe in the honest but God is declaring something to a group of people that are afraid now in Gideon had his army at 37,000 people in his army God says you have too many tell everyone who's afraid to go home how do you know if you're in the 10,000 remaining in 22,000 whatever it was went you weren't afraid hey can we take that test again I I was fine with 33,000 right here but now you know two thirds of the army just left I wasn't afraid that I've suddenly it's face you know I'm starting to go there you know and that time he let everyone who's afraid to go home this time he doesn't do that there are times were Israel he God knew that they would not have the courage to face the enemy so he took them the long way around because he knew they'd turn around go back to Egypt so if the Lord actually leads you into a battle it's only because you are thoroughly equipped for victory you are thoroughly equipped with Israel here's an important thing to remember as Israel's going into the Promised Land so the Promised Land is a picture of breakthroughs of taking possession of increase and breakthrough and maturity growth in this kingdom lifestyle so this promised land as Israel's going through they were only attacked when they were close to another victory this represents the city is coming through as they're approaching the enemy that occupies it go oh no we don't want to lose them so they attack we interpret the attack we're doing something wrong no it's affirmation you're close to a greater victory you're great you're closer to greater inheritance to greater breakthrough you're closer to greater maturity to greater impact on the history and the course of humanity and all these things are right at him why because the devil's nervous so here's an army that didn't have the privilege of going home when they're afraid this is you don't get to go home you're going to use a different tactic I want you to declare your own strength and watch it become a reality some honestly some people in this room are actually only a declaration away from victory waiting for someone else to prophesy waiting for someone else to lay hands and the Lord is saying you know I've put my word in your mouth declare it just declare I'm strong I'm strong the enemy says you don't look strong to me yeah trust me I'm strong it's not human strength I have the spirit of the resurrected Christ in me yeah you killed the Messiah the Spirit who raised him from the dead is in me so here's this this challenge with fear and I something happens when you make fear target this may even sound like him I'm contradicting some of what I'm declared I believe in praying about problems obviously if you're struggling with fear you pray about it but sometimes it becomes such an obsession that we fear fear we actually contribute to what we're fighting against and it becomes larger in our imagination than what it is and sometimes just a shift in focus where we serve somebody we take God's Word into our heart we actually think on it by choice put it on a card if I need to bring it out remind myself what he's saying I just this was a scripture all the time I have cards are things in my computer and my iPad my phone just stuff to bring up all the time just to remind me of what God is saying because as we've said for years I can't afford to have a thought in my head about me that he doesn't have in his head about me it's not appropriate for me to entertain anything that violates what he thinks of what he says and fear does that and I've got this sense that what the Lord has hanging right in front of us the low-hanging fruit if you will the next season of an unusual extraordinary breakthrough that we've been warming up for for a while this realm of breakthrough that the Lord is releasing to us right now for many of you in this room it's one confession away it's one decree away it's one active service away it's 1 verse away that you memorize that you actually meditate on is feeding my heart with everything that's going wrong feeding my heart with what God says about what's going right it's just simple he's not looking for anyone to be heroic he's just looking for people to lean in the right direction he's just looking for people they'll just embrace what he says and declare it the Lord asked Ezekiel he said look at that Valley what do you see any said I see dry bones and the Lord asked him a question he said can these bones live and Ezekiel had the right answer says thou knowest I'm sure as in Old English tu+ found Noah's Lord in other words I'm clueless but I'm sure you know and the Lord says speak to it so I began to prophesy to dead bones as some in this room all of us probably in some measure have situations where it's just it's just a knowledge dry bones it is so dead it's past dead it's beyond dead it's decayed dead and the Lord says say what I'm saying what's what they do say what I'm saying watch what I do John the Baptist dad Zacharias and an angel appeared him and spoke to him and said your prayer has been answered I think it's william barclay one of the Greek language specialists translates that verse this way he says the way that verse can be translated is Sakurai's the prayer that you no longer pray has been heard in other words you gave up on a long time ago but it's still active before me and I've heard it you have reason intelligent reason to be absolutely encouraged because there's not one fear that is coming at you that does not come to you except out of the owner of the devil's own insecurities and his knowledge of his unbending doom he's trying to cover what he has no control of and that is eternal damnation and you and I have the privilege the privilege of walking in absolute upright confidence and the purposes of God over our life regardless of what's happened so I want to encourage you let's quit and stand it but I want us to pray together and who's who's coming up after um you are that's right come on and we're gonna have ministry team down here once again I know we still have people that need to receive prayer land encourage that I'll go to the back door but before we do this I'm gonna prime ministry team lunch come quickly and that'll help us out so that we can transition fast I know I really had a a burden I guess just a heart to talk about this today both because I've seen so many incredible great things happen and because I've seen people that are really fighting through a fight and and I I love triumphant victory I love one my team wins they're not in the World Series so I was having a moment of silence but now we all love when our team wins we love triumphs we are born for victory we were born for this and the crazy thing is is why contribute to our own defeat and that's what fear does and so I'm gonna pray that the Lord had just put this like a resilience he would put something around every person in this room that they're just repels fear so father I pray that once again perfect love would cast out violently throw away fear fearful thoughts fearful experiences fearful things that have somehow put an anchor into our soul and I pray Lord God let there be a mighty mighty deliverance a freedom from that power today for every person in this room every person in overflow rooms watching online just a sweeping deliverance of fear but I pray beyond that I ask Lord raise up an army that is known for courage an army known for courage that actually know their way knows their way around this subject so well that we can assist people coming into their greatest their breakthrough into their greatest day of strength I pray all of these things for the owner of the name Jesus everybody said amen amen amen why don't you hold your places Tom just give us a sec [Music] thank you for joining us on our website I've Ethel org we have our pastors itineraries who may be visiting a place near you Pavelec huntington will be in tonsberg norway November 6th through the 8th and Paul man wearing will be in Middleburg Heights Ohio November 7th through the 11th now we want to hear from you if you have any prayer requests you can email them to pastor at Bethel TV our team would love to pray for you and be sure to send us your testimonies as well we've recently heard a testimony from a family who brought a woman to church about a year ago who had been living with tormenting pain and had plates in the back of her neck she received prayer and was dramatically healed she's recently gone to the doctor who had reported that the metal is still there he said what she can now do is impossible and has no explanation we pray the god of healing and hope take away any pain you may be experiencing right now we pray that you would be able to do was considered impossible and live a thriving life through the power of Jesus thank you for watching Bethel TV and joining us and our Bethel family from around the world we hope to see you again soon [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Bill Johnson Teaching (Official)

Views: 86,698

Rating: 4.8613334 out of 5

Keywords: bill johnson sermons, bill johnson, supernatural, bethel church, miracles, christian, bethel, holy spirit, revival, sermon, holy ghost, spiritual warfare, bethel.tv, bill johnson 2019, knowing god, presence of god, seeing god, bill johnson 2020, bethel redding, bill johnson bethel, bill johnson healing, healing, does God still heal, faith, theology, Jesus, love, fear, what does god say about, what does the bible say

Id: CDc-4Vts1lU

Length: 38min 26sec (2306 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 15 2020