God whispers and shouts through Bill Johnson

My morning podcast and meditating on Bill Johnson's sermon on 'Reformational Prayers'. Wow. Full of good stuff. So many things God is trying to mould ito my life at the moment. Basic things, like the discipline of meditating on the Word, and prayer for people around me, and building the foundations of life strong. Building stability. Building strength.

Here are some notes anyway.

• He talked about the Elijah and prophets of Baal showdown. In the absence of men/women of God, occult activity zooms in to take the place of real spirituality.
• When one has a huge spiritual breakthrough, the man/woman of God is at the point of their greatest vulnerability. We face the greatest temptation after our biggest victories and breakthroughs! We become tired or careless. Elijah became fatigued and depressed.[hmm. Sounds familiar. VERY familiar]. Because we are limited people, limited in energy, strength etc.
• The same kind of situation happened to King Hezekiah. He was a reformer and led the nation back to God. God even gave him 15 more years to live. He enters into a place of blessing and favour with the nations around him as well.
• THEN, he fails the test. He wants to show off how blessed he is to enemy nations. He grew careless, prideful and lifted up in his own heart.
• The prophet comes and rebukes him. He told him that the calamity will come upon the his children instead of him. This should have been a divine opportunity to contend and intercede for the mercy of God. If he knew God's character well, he would have interceded like Moses for the Israelites. INSTEAD, he rejoices that he will escape calamity selfishly. His heart had become corrupted and hardened that he even lost the God-given instinct to protect and bless his children and descendants.

Then he talked about Solomon, which leads to the verse.

1 Chronicles 7:13-14

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

• Solomon actually accomplished everything that came into his heart. Wow.
• God usually does not give us dreams that he does not want to be fulfilled. He does not taunt and tease. He deposits seeds of dreams on us and he wants to see them fulfilled
• One should learn rejoice with those who have victories, even when we are not doing so well. One should learn how to be a friend and mourn with those who are suffering, even when we are having a very good time. When you know how to handle your friend's breakthrough, you become positioned to handle your own.[principle of stewardship]

1 Tim 2: 1-2

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— ²for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

• Nehemiah practiced intercession. He STEPPED into his nation's shoes. He calls his nation's sin as his sin. When we intercede, we pray on behalf of people as if we were them, or together with them.
• We give thanks for all in authority, evil of good. There is a sanctifiying work to thankfulness.
• Civil responsibility and prayer for rightous people to be promoted are all important, but the political mindset is dangerous.
• The Lord will even bless the world before he will bless the CARNALITY of the church. This is often why creative ideas are released to unbelievers because the church that is caught up with political mindsets, fighting for people to be voted for the wrong reasons, thinking that legislation can bring about revival.
• We need to be delivered from this political mindset without losing the sense of righteous decision and responsibility in tha nation's affairs.
• Somehow, we need to give thanks to embrace everyone without embracing what they believe or stand for.
• God's general will for us is to live in peace. WHY? Peaceble lives among believers will bring in the biggest harvest. Jesus is the desire of the nations. It's time for his BODY to be the desire of the nations. Stable and godly lifestyles will attract harvest.
• A nation will always end up with the government they deserve. Always. [because of the transgression of a land, many are it's princes Prov 28:2]. The more the sin of the land, the bigger the government. It is man's answer to sin.
• Witchcraft starts off as a sin of the flesh rather than something demonic. Witchcraft is wanting power without being in submission. Manipulation and control. It ends up as a demonic stronghold. [Flies are attracted to decay. Sins of the flesh attract the demonic]
• Prov 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. But God is waiting for intercessors, not accusers.