Powerlessness: Unnecessary and Unbalanced part 3

"So how do we walk in the power of God? First, we must pursue Him. The life of power is a life of abiding in Christ... The hunger for the demonstration of power must not be separated from our passion for Him. But realize this, our hunger for Him in part must be seen in our lustful pursuit of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1). That is His command!" Bill Johnson

We must be in and stay in pursuit of an encounter with God. No one's live has ever been truly changed without an encounter. This is clearly seen throughout the Scriptures. We must be willing to do whatever it takes to receive these kind of life-changing encounters over and over again. We must be willing to go wherever we need to go.

Bill Johnson tells of an encounter he had in Toronto in 1995 and how it has changed his life and his ministry forever. You've got to get this book and read it if you don't have it yet. It is a powerful testimony of what pusuing God with all your heart can lead too -- even changing the world.

"Jesus healed everyone who came to Him," Pastor Johnson states. "To accept any other standard is to bring the Bible down to our level of experience, and deny the nature of the One who changes not.

"... If the average Christian life around me falls short of the Biblical standard, I must pursue against the grain. If people are not being healed... I will pursue the healing until it comes or the individual goes to be with the Lord. I will not lower the standard of the Bible to my level of experience."

I need more of this tenacity in my life Lord. I'm beginning to awaken to it, but I'm not there yet. Holy Spirit lead me into a life of obedience and power.

The author goes on to give some more practical advice about how to walk in the power of God but I don't have time to go into it right now.

I did want to mention one more thing that Bill Johnson mentions in Chapter 10, he says, "If we teach, preach, or witness and nothing happens, we must go back to the drawing board -- our kness. Do not make excuses for powerlessness. For decades the Church has been guilty of creating doctrine to justify their lack of power, instead of crying out to God until He changed them. The lie they came to believe has given rise to an entire branch of theology that has infected the Body of Christ with a fear of the Holy Spirit. It deceives under the guise of staying undeceived. The Word must go forth with power... Without question, walking with God in power will cost all who give themselves to this mandate. But the absence of power is even more costly."

The Holy Spirit is so important. He is living water to our thirsty souls. He is our comforter and our teacher. He is the very breath that we breathe. He came on the day of Pentecost in power and we still need that power today. I, for one, do not want to settle for any thing less than the power of the Holy Ghost being active in my life. And in order to keep it I know I must give it away. We must not settle for a powerless life or a powerless Church.


You can find "WHEN HEAVEN INVADES EARTH" by Bill Johnson at the MUSIC AND BOOKSTORE link on our website -- www.loveandfire.net. It is being offered at a 21% discount.