How to Grow Through Your Trial (Do the Math. Never Lack.) - Bill Johnson Sermon | Bethel Church

how do you extract the nutrients out of a trial because there's a lot of people going through all kinds of Trials and they are not becoming more like Jesus the trial doesn't do it when you can give thanks in the midst of trial he says in everything give thanks you have just tapped into how to extract the nutrients out of that thing that was designed to destroy to be the very thing that promotes you thank thank you please please sit down I love you too thank you you know if you can't get encouraged around Lou

as a friend of mine would say your wood is wet if you can't get lit up under that guy my goodness wow wow wow this is this is more significant than um a new chapter this is more significant than a second chance this is more significant than um a good level of breakthrough yes it's actually as has been declared for months now it's a new era and we're at the beginning we're at the beginning of something that require requires absolute devotion and incredible stewardship um you know you you you respond Divine moments are they they

don't come when we want them to we don't schedule them you can't put it on your calendar and say we're going to have a Divine moment and we'll make all the right choices when it's necessary it's actually it's the response of Heaven to the cries of Earth but the timing is entirely up to the Lord and he's the one who opens the door and says come up here come up here and uh we're in that kind of a in that kind of a moment so I don't even know what to do I don't I don't

know what to do I haven't known what to do for a couple years now but it's it's not getting any better is the problem is I'm I'm getting worse at not knowing what to do so I I pray a lot and I basically say God I don't know what I'm doing it's good to be still it it's it's uh yeah I don't know what I'm doing now I know what to do when somebody tells me that I just don't know what to do when it's my prayer I had a friend called me recently said we

have a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit and we don't know what we're doing and I said well that's what qualifies you but I don't want to hear that yeah well I don't know if you got that but we'll just maybe we'll just leave that right there um yeah we're in a we're we're in a a significant yeah I don't even know if it's a season it may you know we've been declaring I've been declaring a number of our team we've been declaring this for a number of years we're at the beginning of of a

of a Great Awakening and I I do believe that's true but there's been like two in all of history and so we're not talking about you know a good weekend service yes you know we just had a glory Cloud show up you know we we've had it happen 26 times that I know of that we've counted we just had one show up this last week with with the junior highs [Applause] L don't be offended but it wasn't a prayer meeting it was Game Night yeah I don't I don't know why that surprises me so much

but it does you know the first miracle was watered to wine at a wedding so the Lord apparently likes Gatherings for Delight for celebration and um I don't know no I I just got a feeling as you can tell I'm rambling and it may not stop I I've got a feeling that all the things we've experienced up until now and we've we've been in this outpouring for 30 years all the things we've experienced up until now has created a momentum but it hasn't created a Playbook it's given us a momentum it's given us a taste

of what it's like when the glory comes what it's like when there's certain kinds of anointing for breakthrough Etc but it's not given us a breakthrough none of the lists that you find in scripture contain God they all reveal God there's a difference the gifts of the Spirit there's nine that are listed three sets of three I think it was just to help administrators feel like they were valuable I did an interview this week for a documentary and they were asking about the gifts of the Spirit and stuff and I I told them I he

was he was absolutely dumbfounded I told him I said you know I have two relatives that when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit they wrote in perfect Chinese and had never uh known or studied the language they just wrote they kept the papers a missionary came through town read them and said this is Psalms 23 and this one was just a song of praise so one was a song of Praise one was the 23rd psalm that's not on the list but it's consistent with the list does that make sense it's consistent with the list

the list doesn't confine God it reveals him and when you taste of the things of God in in a Revival setting in a an Awakening setting Awakening goes deep into the roots of culture itself deep into the root system of how things are formed in a city in a nation I don't know let me just put it this way you've never seen it before so you don't know what it's going to look like I've never seen it before because I wasn't alive during Wesley's day I I know it you may not believe that but uh

but I I really I really wasn't all kinds of humorous thoughts come to my mind and I'm going to show incredible discipline and ignore them all let let me just talk to you for a bit and let's just see where this goes I I have some things on my heart but I uh well let's just see go to James chapter 1 and we'll uh we'll start there James chapter 1 my my uh we had a celebration of life service for my mom this last Thursday and um as I was thinking about that particular day and

the closing remarks that I was to make at at this memorial service I just started pondering once again the incredible mystery of how of how different God thinks he he doesn't think different to be different he thinks different because he's right and we're the ones who think different his perspective is different he sees the end from the beginning he sees every situation that comes our way that he has a special design in being able to use it for a specific purpose he sees in long term the effects of certain experiences both negative and positive he's

not the author of death he's not the author of confusion he's not the author of loss but he is he is the significant one who wins with every hand we're dealt and and he is he just thinks different and what he's doing with you and me is he's given us enough commands in scripture to help us think like he does and without surrender it's not going to happen you know the scripture says you'll know the truth and the truth will make you free set you free knowing truth doesn't set you free knowing truth does not

set you free there are people all over the world that have studied the scriptures 6 7 8 10 hours a day for years for decades and they're not free because a mental comprehension of a concept doesn't set a person free the knowing that is talked about here is the knowing by experience when God gives you Insight of a truth it always comes as an invitation to an experience many believers stop short of transformational encounters because they're satisfied with good theology when the Lord opens up something to you and to me it's always comes with an

invitation to develop a relationship in that way I'm not talking about experience in the sense that you pray for you fall you shake for 3 hours on the floor that's glorious and I hope it happens to everyone but that's not that's not the point the point is is that because he has shown to me this is his nature this is what I am to learn this is how I'm to think and to see then I am I am now responsible to pursue him in light of that Insight when the Apostle Paul taught the church at

Corinth about the gifts of the Spirit he was talking to a group of people that were accustom in their history of serving multiple gods and so he was bringing to them an Insight that all these multiple gifts came from one spirit and it all came for one purpose and so he's helping them with their Theology and he gave them the most the greatest Insight in scripture 1 Corinthians 12 on the gifts of the Spirit chapter 14 ver1 says pursue earnestly spiritual gifts why would we need the command to pursue if he just gave us the

absolute best Revelation ever on the gifts of the Spirit because the Revelation doesn't impart it invites the Revelation doesn't impart the Revelation is an invitation it invites so he says pursue earnestly spiritual gifts that means then once insight has been given there is a responsibility that you and I have to actually seek the face of God regarding that matter anyone can memorize scripture quote scripture win the Bible quiz when questions are asked what does this mean what does that mean what's the oldest book of the Bible how long was Israel in the wilderness we can

all answer the questions and still know nothing about the God who transforms because he's a God to be known so when it says you will know the truth it's experiential knowledge of truth that sets a person free this is fascinating to me because the Lord every commandment he gives us leads to Freedom there are no Commandments that are punishment there are none that restrict us in the sense that they keep us from Life they restrict us from the things that kill so when the Lord speaks a command to us he's setting boundaries for our Behavior

so that we will experience him more fully and know what Liberty is where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom wherever the spirit demonstrates the lordship of Jesus freedom is the evidence wherever the Holy Spirit leads an individual into the experience of his lordship you can measure it through Freedom that's good word so the Lord is always working towards us being free greater Liberty greater Freedom we were all designed to have creative expression in the Earth we were all designed to be unique thinkers

unique not in a sense of of uh you know some people are unique just because they want to be different and they are unique and then there's an honest uniqueness a person living out who God made them to be in Zechariah 1 the Lord talks about about four beasts that rise up in the earth four refers to worldwide four corners of the earth north south east west and these four horns their powers authorities that rise up in the Earth really to overwhelm and overcome the people of God and the Lord's answer for those those four

horns is to raise up four Artisans creatives wow we're not talking about people we're talking because it's four it's worldwide in other words it's the people of God who have become free because free people think creatively free people think creatively as long as I am worried as long as I am bound with regret as long as I'm worried about what will happen if the enemy can tie me to the failures or disappointments of yesterday and make me fearful about tomorrow he has undercut my creativity and I don't mean creativity necessarily just in writing music or

painting pictures I'm talking about the way we approach life the the uniqueness of a Divine moment when you're talking to a friend and you have this most unusual idea but you're free and you share the idea and happens to be the very key thing that sets that person at liberty or freedom come on it's it's it's being untethered by yesterday and the fear of Tomorrow wow regret is very similar in its effect on the human body on the soul it's very similar to unforgiveness because they both tie us to the Past regret unforgiveness a regret

let me do specifically regret is it's a mismanagement of yesterday it's an improper management of the effects of yesterday my memories fear about what might happen is my mismanagement of tomorrow so when he says the truth will make you free It's actually an invitation to discover truth and then discover the god of that truth because in that experience of Truth is freedom what would it be like for you to be able to sit in a room and anyone from your past could walk into the room and there would be no regret there would be no

desire to leave out of that exit wow see freedom is real it's real it's it's the product of truth of Truth realized truth realized is the Ultimate Adventure yes in Ephesians 3 he says that we might know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge interesting verse that you might know the love of Christ that surpasses [Music] knowledge the original language can read this way that you might know by experience what is beyond comprehension your heart can take you where your head can't fit come on you'd know by experience what you can't comprehend but here's the

Glorious thing the Lord does not want us ignorant he just wants us surrendered when you go heart first you learn through your experience there's a lot of warning about learning through experience because there have been people who have been so deceived and really pulled away from the authority and the strength of scripture and I understand the fear but it's unreasonable I mean I understand people's thinking if that makes sense you don't want to build a theology on an experience if you can't find it in scripture I'm all in that's it the real problem is those

who are without an experience are already [Music] deceived the gospel is not a philosophy that's good it's not a club that we join yeah yeah it's a relational Journey with a person the Son of God who took on flesh yes who qualified Me For Eternity for heaven and so he invites us into this journey this experience where he says to know the love of Christ to know through experience what you can never wrap your head around and it's in the relational experience that we begin to learn in our minds we begin to learn and gain

understanding the Bible says in Hebrews 11 says by faith we understand the worlds we're made out of nothing by faith we understand it doesn't say we understand and then comes faith it says by faith we understand faith is more substant real faith not presumption actual faith is more substantial than reasoning it's it's Superior to intellect and real faith will actually teach you how to think good wow that's good it's why developing faith is so critical Hebrews 11 also says without faith it's impossible to please him that's an extreme statement without faith it's impossible to please

him at the root of every expression at the root of every connection at the root of every part of our walk with Christ at the root of that is the expression of faith and people will say well I I have no faith I need you to pray for well what did you do with it cuz he gave every person a Measure of Faith he gave it to you where where did you put it so because he thinks differently than we do surrender unto an experience helps us to change our perception of reality it helps us

to adjust and change so that we see as he sees and I want to just give you an example of that it's in James chapter 1 James chapter 1 ver 2 my brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials anybody else really dislike that verse let's let's do it count it all joy I mean he doesn't just say suck it up and endure he says count it Joy count it all joy count is to do the math count it all joy add it up when you fall into various trials why knowing that

the testing of your faith produces patience let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing all right so let's think through this for a minute let's let's assume this is actually true God's not sitting in heaven laughing at the command he just gave us to count it all joy he's actually inviting us into what into Freedom he's inviting us into Freedom it's not a mindover matter of Freedom it's not hype yourself up it's not psych yourself out kind of Freedom it's not pretend it's actually the substance of Liberty is

at the end of this verse and he says count it all joy so here's the deal count it all joy when you encounter various trials now the end result of that is that you're perfect complete lacking nothing the implication then is if I don't count it Joy when I face certain trials I am incomplete immature and I will always be lacking so here's the deal how do you extract the nutrients out of a trial because there's a lot of people going through all kinds of Trials and they are not becoming more like Jesus all do

you understand me that it's the the trial doesn't do it does that make sense the trial doesn't do it when you can give thanks in the midst of trial he says in everything give thanks when you can give thanks you have just tapped into how to extract the nutrients out of that which the enemy designed to destroy you and the Lord reverses the effect so that it actually becomes the thing that sets you up with maturity stability and complete total [Music] Provisions so because he sees the end from the beginning he can actually come to

you and say you know what this isn't a joke I'm really telling you the truth you can get happy right at this point right here when that trial came that's you you start getting happy you start choosing Joy you start offering thanks in the midst of trial and you're going to cause the effect of that thing that was designed to destroy to be the very thing that promotes you yes completeness maturity strength and provision [Applause] there's provision in the trial the provision isn't just isn't just to help you to endure there's a lot to be

said about endurance and it's important he who endures to the end shall be saved I get that but in this particular case is the invitation for Triumph is the invitation for open Vindication is the invitation for things to be so reversed that what was meant to take you out and cause you to lack is actually your your point of access for personal gain see now that's how he thinks the my the reason my mind went in this direction this week at my mom's memorial service celebration of life service is I was thinking about that verse

out of Psalms uh one 116 I think it's verse 5 where he says precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Godly ones precious you ever hear the phrase precious metals precious gems we're actually talking about something that has extreme value extreme value I was with a friend some months ago and he has a couple artifacts that I'm not even going to tell you what they are um yeah I can't tell you one one for ex I'll tell you one I'll tell you I tell I can't tell the other one I

I I'm sorry I I shouldn't have even brought this up I should now change the [Applause] subject an actual nail from the time of Christ that the Romans use for crucifixion and the other is actually an actual piece of a very significant building in Israel's history you [Applause] I'm just going to leave it right there Priceless are you with me pricess it's put in a safe he brought it up to show me that somebody got this and gave it to him as a gift it qualifies as precious something that is so treasured is kept safe

something that is so treasured it's actually put on display at very special moments it's not put on the coffee table for anyone just to walk past it's not stuck in the a hotel lobby somewhere it's something that is brought up because it is of such extreme value that there are only certain people that would look at that nail not everyone on the planet would get excited about seeing that not everybody on the planet would get excited about seeing a rock that was actually Tak taken from one of the greatest moments in Israel's history and to

see you're kidding precious so with that in mind the Bible says precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Godly ones highly valued incredibly treasured protected and put on display for those who would understand benefit celebrate he just thinks different he thinks different and he's right there's no question there's sorrow on our end when there's loss and the Bible doesn't pretend there isn't Faith doesn't deny the existence of a problem Faith denies the problem a place of influence come on Wow problems don't have the right to dictate how I'm to think

amen let me read to you a random verse out of numbers I was thinking about it this morning and actually opened up to it not knowing where it was it's in numbers 14 this is when Joshua and Caleb had spied out the promised land and came back with a good report and 10 other spies came back with a bad report so some of you may remember that story Joshua and Caleb and spying out the land they came back and he said the land we passed through in verse 7 to spy out is exceeding an exceedingly

good land if the Lord Delights in us then we will then he will bring us into the land and give it to us a land which flows with milk and honey only do not rebel against the Lord nor fear people of the land for they are our bread the protection has departed from them and the Lord is with us do not fear them think with me for a minute that problem that is so intimidating to you is actually breakfast [Applause] it's [Applause] toast now this is in the Bible this is not this is not in

the funny papers it's not a comic book it's not the newspaper this is actually in the word of God where a an expression of faith comes from two guys that have refused to live in fear and when they refused to live in fear but instead live according to promise they were able to see the Giants that terrified a nation they saw them as breakfast what does bread do it nourishes see a lot of people that are spiritually fasting they're spiritually fasting they're not devouring the enemy there are nutrients to be had in the problem you

face but without a proper approach the problem will constantly bind bind us in fear but seeing through his eyes seeing through and you can see through his eyes if you see with his promise seeing through the promise of the Lord is seeing through his eyes he gives promises because he sees it differently than we do and so when he gives a promise that's how we can see a situation through his eyes that's why it's called the promised land the destiny of every believer is to live in a liberated place of Promise yes and so the

Giants that Israel feared were terrified of that actually kept them that first generation Their Fear of the Giants kept them from the promised land two guys said no they are bread what you're running from is actually dinner you're running from breakfast you're you're let me put it this way you are you are avoiding the thing that will strengthen you because it's nutritional it's health food and it doesn't need to be [Applause] glutenfree even gluten-free people can eat this [Applause] spread do not fear the people of the land do not fear the thing that intimidates you

in your life the most right now don't fear it why it's your bread it's that which will sustain life for you it is that which will strengthen it is that which will Define you after this comment was made the glory of the Lord appeared so it was kind of his Amen on the statement he liked it too none of us none of us have an option of not grieving or not mourning and I I'll wrap up tonight with this we've I we've gone long enough but we've we don't have the option to not grieve we

don't have the option to go through life without mourning mourning well is one of the is one of the signs of the operation of Grace on our lives doesn't mean we always have to get it perfect it just means we have to be going in the right direction you know as I've mentioned to you before some battles require such intense effort on our part with the fasting and the cries and the prayers and the decrees sometimes though all you got to do is just show up and he sends the angel of the Lord out who

wipes out your enemy so you just you just got to show up sometimes I don't feel strong at all but I just I just show up sometimes I show up and I go God I don't know what I'm doing he says this one's on me and he takes care of it other times he shows me play byplay this is what you need to do take this first make this decree lay hands on this person sometimes you give specific things that were to do but you just have to be courageous enough to show up and this

thing with mour morning takes us in one of two places if you could imagine if here's here's a interesting observation I've made for the last 30 years this won't make sense initially but hopefully it will ultimately I've watched people who are desperate for God desperate desperate crying out for God that end up in a place of actual resistance to God and then I see some who are desperate that come into this place of Great Divine encounter that's a mystery to me I I have reasons for uh perceptions on how it happens as somebody here's a

weird thought do you know um how vaccines and stuff are made they'll take a little part of a disease small portion put it into your body right and you build a resistance people get small portions of Jesus build a resistance to Jesus you experience him through surrender he doesn't come in bite-sized [Applause] pieces that was free so here's here's this thing of morning mour takes us in one of two places here's a here's a road that goes towards unbelief and here's a road that goes to a Divine encounter I want you to look in your

Bibles to Mark 16 we'll we'll end with this one Mark chapter 16 and I I want to leave you with this uh with this thought because because we've got to know how to manage and navigate our hearts uh I can tell you from my experience you don't have to be strong you don't have to feel strong you don't have to feel full of Faith you just got to show up if if if everybody in this room would just determine I will be faithful regardless of how I feel you'll be amazed what will happen in and

through your life in the next couple years just the courage to show up you know there were 500 people that that Jesus appeared to in the book of Acts excuse me 500 people that he appeared to announcing there was going to be this Mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit there was 120 in the upper room so there's 380 that didn't accept the invitation it doesn't mean they didn't get it later all right I'll just I'll just I'll just let you I'll just let you just sit there okay verse 9 of Mark 16 he said said

when he arose uh he rose early on the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom he had cast seven demons she went and told those who had been with him and they mourned and wept and when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her they did not believe their mourning led to unbelief verse 12 after that he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country and they went and told it to the rest but they did not

believe them either verse 14 later he appeared to the 11 as they sat at the table and he rebuked their unbelief and Hardness of Heart because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen this is a very sobering verse to me I don't know what you do with this but this this troubles me in a sense I'll tell you why he rebuked them because they did not believe the experience of another the fear of being gullible has kept us from the testimony that prophesies a reality into our own personal lives

fear again keeps us from the very thing that God has set us up to experience and because it may not come through that vessel that you think is so specially anointed so here we have good examples of the disciples that actually resisted the best news in the world he's alive and it's crazy because he even told them he was going to rise yeah but they were they were how many you know the mourning can make you stupid and and how how can how do I how do I mourn in a way that that doesn't take

me to unbel belief what's the other way God God encounter it's in the Beatitudes blessed are they who mourn for they shall be com comforted blessed are they who mourn for they will encounter the [Music] comforter see there's there's one of two ways to go there's there's I keep going I'm I'm mourning I'm I'm struggling I've experienced pain and all of us get it and if if I if I don't mourn correctly it actually takes me into a place where I become a professional resistor I may even still have the same theology yeah I believe

I know God heals yes he does you you've got that disease they have a real good anointing for that go go have them pray for you what am I doing I'm avoiding an opportunity for God to use a broken vessel to bring healing and health and Life to something body it's the avoidance and I know this one well I know this one really well that it's really easy in that place of mourning if we don't mourn correctly to look for ways to escape a situation so how is it that we can mourn correctly I'm glad

you asked see if I can find it here I do not want you to be ignorant Brethren concerning those who have died lest you sorrow or mourn as those who have no hope did you see it what causes this this why in the road what in this journey of mour that we we all have grief we all it may be a loss of a job it may be a loss of a friend it could be a loss of the animal that you've had in your your dog pet dog for 15 years it could be your

spouse could be you know different degrees but it's still mourning still grieving and sometimes it's the little foxes sometimes we do better on the big things we do the little things because it's the little foxes that spoil the vineyard so here we've got this I'm on this road of mourning and I've got a decision to make how am I going to mourn am I going to mourn with hope because it'll take me to the comforter or am I going to mourn just trying to handle stuff on my own because it will just take me deeper

and deeper into resistance to the good news that God has put all around my life he thinks different psalms 27 says I I would have lost heart had I not believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living I would have lost heart but what caused me to not lose heart what caused what kept me from the bottom falling out of my life was the fact that I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living I kept that hope alive that I don't

know how I don't know when but I just know his goodness is so overwhelmingly true that the end of the story will be I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the [Applause] living all right I'm done let's [Applause] stand thank you Jesus we're going to have Ministry stuff going on and all kinds of fun things yeah so it's not over it's not over I feel like the Lord's doing like heart surgery and stuff out that's what I feel like I feel like he's just he's just cutting in there you know

it's kind of cool he has a double-edged sword yeah because it heals where it cuts it's got two sides to this sword he cuts deep but it heals where it cuts wow oh yes Lord this this may sound way off subject but I've got you standing which means I won't talk long did you know that healing is an actual expression of Holiness yeah wow wow it's sickness is to my body what sin is to my soul that's why it says the son of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings healing is connected to an

expression of righteousness wow why are you looking at me like that I see all of this that I've talked about tonight all all of this as actual what Holiness looks like you will know the truth and the truth will make you free what is that freedom it's the Liberty to live in Purity it's the Liberty to live like Jesus undefiled unrestrained becoming the the creative expression that God desires us to be bringing solutions to the pains and the difficulties of people all around us so father uh we're hungry for you we're so thankful what you're

doing what you're saying this uh bigger than a season change feels like we just threw away the old calendar and started a new one but I'm asking I'm asking tonight and as we step more confidently into the season the you would bring us into experiencing truth in such a deep and profound way that we illustrate your holy nature your wonder your beauty your creative Insight your passion for providing Solutions the patents everything that was talked out earlier or for all of that that you'd release such a simple Grace over us as a family to embrace

this shift in in calendars I ask this for the honor of the name Jesus and I do pray mess us up with dreams mess us up with dreams in ways we've never known introduce us to new ways of thinking I ask in Jesus name put a hand on somebody next to you and just say God mess them up with dreams mess them up with dreams w