Bill Johnson teaches on God’s promise to strengthen us in our battles. Strength for the battle is found in the battle. Often we feel unqualified or weak in the face of spiritual warfare, but if we will say “yes” to God, regardless of what we feel, we will find strength in the battle. When the Israelites faced giants in the Promised Land Joshua encouraged them that the giants were their bread, but because of fear, the Israelites chose not to face their enemies and take the land. Of an estimated 2 million Israelites, the only 2 men to enter the land 40 years later were Joshua and Caleb because they never wavered in God’s promise. Many of us want strength FOR the battle, but God promises to strengthen us IN the battle if we will continue to say “yes” to Him with faith and confidence in His word. Learn more about Arise and Build: https://www.bethel.com/arise-and-build
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Scripture References: Romans 15: 4 Numbers 13 1 Timothy 1: 18 Luke 4: 18 Numbers 14 Psalm 23: 5 2 Samuel 11: 1 Originally shared at Bethel Church, Redding California, on September 17, 2023. Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #SpiritualWarfare #Strength
yes I may feel disqualified I may feel
too weak I may feel a hundred things
that would logically keep me from my yes
but it’s in the yes the strength comes
so the spirit of the Lord comes upon the
one who says yes and then they find
themselves able to do what they couldn’t
do a moment earlier
[Music]
so glad we get to do this today we get
to do all kinds of stuff I love Crepes
and there’s a crepe truck out there
so if I just kind of walk off the stage
in a couple minutes it’s because I’m
going for crepes
actually I won’t tell them I’ll say
this is supposedly a true story
I believe it is
young Paddy p-a-d-d-y bought a donkey
from a farmer for a hundred pounds
the farmer agreed to deliver the donkey
the next day the next day he drove up
and said sorry son but I have some bad
news the donkey died
Petty replay well just give me my money
back farmer said I can’t do that I
already spent it
Patty said okay then just bring me the
dead donkey farmer said what are you
gonna do with him so I’m going to raffle
him off
farmer said you can’t raffle a dead
donkey Petty said sure I can watch me I
just won’t tell anyone he’s dead
a month later the farmer met up with
Patty and asked what happened to that
dead donkey Patty said I raffled him off
I sold 500 tickets at two pounds each
made a profit of 898 pounds
farmer said didn’t anyone complain he
said just one guy to the one guy who won
I gave him his two pounds back
laughs
Patty now works for the Royal Bank of
Scotland so that’s awesome it’s a great
story all right
grab your bibles if you would and open
to the Book of Numbers
I
I’ve been reading the uh
just in my own devotional reading time
been reading out of
the books of law for the last couple of
months and I’m in Deuteronomy now but I
I always love reading
all the Old Testament but I all the
scripture let’s be honest I like it all
some of it’s getting more confusing than
other parts but but I I love
I love the stories of Israel and coming
out of the Egypt into the promised land
all those stories are are just so uh
they’re they’re graphic to me they’re
this like remedial reading it’s easy to
read it’s easy to see truth
and um
I remember
um
thinking about this story of entering
the Promised Land
and how it is so uh is so prophetic for
us as a people Paul actually wrote about
the Old Testament he said in in Romans I
think it’s 15 he said these things were
written in earlier times for our
instruction
so Paul was actually saying we need this
and so many Believers ignore the Old
Testament it’s the root system for the
gospel and it’s it’s critical that we
pray and learn to understand and read
and so some of these stories are just
they’re just food food for my soul and I
just enjoy them so much
this story is about Moses he chose 12
Spies leaders from each tribe let me put
it this way highly valued highly
respected leaders one from each tribe
sent them into the promised land to
examine what they were about to inherit
this is such a bizarre story to me
because God promised Israel
let’s say about estimated some would
estimate about 2 million people in Egypt
Israelites
promised them that they would inherit
the Promised Land
and yet out of two million people only
two people entered
some would say well if God promised it
it’s just going to happen that’s just
not true
Larry Randolph helped us with this
concept the best he said God will
fulfill all of his promises but he’s not
obligated to fulfill our potential
some words are given to us as
invitations to co-labor with the Lord to
step into destiny
and one of the most challenging parts of
this storyline is that there is conflict
that precedes
there’s conflict that precedes arriving
into Destiny there’s always there’s
always an obstacle
to keep you from your destiny and the
obstacle is not there for our
destruction it is therefore our
strengthening
it’s in the obstacle the will of God
becomes
re-affirmed and established in us in our
journey
from day one it’s always been about
co-laboring with the Lord the whole
thing has been about co-aboring with the
Lord
he commissioned Adam and Eve he
commissioned them to be fruitful
multiply and filled the Earth Etc has
always been about co-laboring about
working together
it’s never been about God doing
everything for us
nor does he require us to work
independent of him
all of his Commandments none of his
Commandments are punishment all of his
Commandments are invitations to life
all of these Commandments are
invitations to partnership
and so that’s what we have in the story
so I want to take you through a good
part of chapter 13 we’ll read a half a
dozen verses or so and then we’ve got
something to find in chapter 14. all
right so you’re there Numbers Chapter 13
I will start with verse 28.
and then they told him saying we went to
the land where you sent us
it truly flows with milk and honey and
this is its fruit which is interesting
because it took two men to carry one
bunch of grapes out it was so so huge
hmm
nevertheless verse 28 the people who
dwell in the land are strong the cities
are fortified and very large
moreover we saw the descendants of anak
there
the amalekites dwell in the land of the
South the Hittites the jebusites the
parasites
the galvanites
the amorites Canaanites
they all dwell by the Sea along the
banks of the Jordan then Caleb quieted
the people before Moses and said let us
go up at once and take possession for we
are well able to overcome
let me jump on this just this one phrase
let us go up at once
I’ve seen I have obeyed the Lord but did
it in delay and my delayed obedience
I saw this happen so I just kind of
trust me on this one if if you would
delayed obedience reduce the Power
released in my obedience
whereas when I have acted quickly in
obedience there was tremendous release
of power
it’s like the Lord honored The Obedience
but it didn’t have near the fruitfulness
that it was that he intended it to have
because I delayed I debated evaluated
tried to bring God’s will into my human
reasoning to figure it out and it
restricted the effect of my obedience
so Caleb is at a moment where he can if
he can get Israel to act quickly they
will respond to see tremendous Triumph
and so that’s what he’s trying to do
so he says let us go up at once
and take possession for we are well able
to overcome it
verse 31 The Men Who had gone up with
him said we are not able to go up
against this people for they are
stronger than we
and they gave the children of Israel a
bad report of the land which they had
spied out saying the land through which
we have gone as spies is a land that
devours its inhabitants
and all the people whom we saw in it are
men of great stature
there we saw the Giants the descendants
of Anna came from the Giants and we were
like grasshoppers in our own sight
so were we in their sight
here’s the crazy thing about the 10
spies
is to Israel
they were reasonable
and there’s such a fear of being labeled
as unreasonable
the people actually choose unbelief over
faith
the the crazy thing about this is the
Ten spies came back with a negative
report about the size of the Giants and
their negative report became a
self-fulfilling prophecy
they warned Israel and their bad report
actually was uh became contagious
and the people embraced bad news over
good news which is really common
we live at a time where the enemy works
very hard to make us feel and to appear
as victims not victors
and the strategy is is to inundate us
with enough negative report and bad news
we call it discernment to sound
spiritual
bad news to keep us from Destiny and
Paul already told Timothy he said
he said fight your fight
for your destiny what the prophetic
words given to you so Paul was saying
from where you’re standing to where
you’re going there’s a conflict in
between and you’re going to need
prophetic words to get you there you’re
going to need to use as Weapons what God
has said
now how do you use the word of the Lord
you speak it
you speak it things have to be said
I don’t know if you if you realize this
Jesus before he had performed one
miracle
stood before a group of people he he had
he had no history in the miraculous he
stood before a group of people and he
made this Proclamation the spirit of the
Lord God is upon me because he has
anointed me to bring good news to
captives recovery of sight to the blind
the lamb are going to walk he goes
through this whole thing before he’d
done anything why because he’s making a
proclamation your words announce where
you’re going
and if I’ve asked you this before if if
God inhabits my praise who inhabits my
complaints
words attract presence and you and I
determine what presence we want to
attract
sometimes we actually create landmines
along our road to Destiny through our
our words
and there’s this warning here because we
see it so uh it’s Illustrated so
graphically where ten spies were able to
take the heart out of an entire nation
ten people
it’s interesting when Joshua sent spies
in the next time he only sent two
it’s a lot easier to get two United than
12. so I I don’t I don’t know that Moses
did it wrong but I know he learned he
changed the plan he changed the plan
so here’s this story where the entire
nation becomes riddled with fear because
of a bad report and you have to
understand keep in mind they think they
are making a reasonable decision
fear
is almost always based on facts of some
sort
just not truth
I’m not I’m not a we’re building a
building
I’ve never been
I like buildings but they’re tools I’ve
never been excited about building this
or building that
my philosophic approach to buildings
gets tossed out the window When God says
it’s time to build
the only thing I need to know is does he
say build if he says build that I am now
a builder
I am now a Visionary for a building
and I’m gonna suck it up you know and uh
and the whole uh DM you know I’m not
emphasized building for as long as I can
remember but I can tell the prophets
have actually warned us in recent years
if you delay you will have disobeyed
and so we are doing the at once thing
right now we’re all of us are going
Caleb here at once let’s go forward and
Bill so that’s what we’re committing
ourselves to but this challenged us
before us is an impossibility much like
Israel’s
any destiny that you think you have that
is possible
you’ll probably accomplish and take the
credit
God tends to assign us things that we
can’t take credit for once they’re
accomplished
though one of the ways we know that
we’re in the center of what God God is
has called us to do is because it’s it’s
simply not within it sometimes it’s not
even within your gift mix
you know he signs Paul the Jewish
scholar to minister to the Gentiles and
Peter the fisherman to the Jews
you know he he assigns people
differently than we would
we tend to Define our ministry by what
we’re good at instead of what we’re
called to do
if if you discover what you’re called to
do then you seek Him privately for the
gifts necessary to fulfill the call
instead of creating everything about
around what you’re comfortable with
you do this I don’t but you do this
sorry just a bad joke bad joke
chapter 14
verse 1 it says so all the congregation
lifted up their voices and cried
the people wept that night
this is a little touchy so let me just
take it with a bulldozer
just because somebody is crying
now let me back up how it’s going to be
a little fast
we’re we’re people who care for people
and you know you have a friend you have
a loved one you have somebody your
counselor whatever it might be they’re
in tears there’s Brokenness we always
want to Rally around them and support
them absolutely my first response
but sometimes if we’re not careful as
friends we can insulate people from
God’s dealings because the only reason
they’re crying is because they’re in
pain and the only reason they’re in pain
is God turned right and they turn left
let me let me give you the illustration
Jesus said my yoke is easy my bird in
his life what was the example
a yoke is a wooden thing that rests on
the shoulders of two oxen so you got the
big Ox he’s carrying the weight of the
oak he’s got the light Ox has no weight
however if the big Ox turns right and
the little Ox turns left is going to be
in pain and he’s going to cry
what you don’t want to do is insulate
the dumb choice to turn left when God is
turning right that’s what what you don’t
want to do is you want to show Mercy
kindness and care but get to the bottom
of the issue the reason they’re crying
is because God gave them a future a
destiny it’s on the other side of giants
and in the resistance of God’s yes
in their know they found tears
now does that make any sense I hope so I
hope so I I uh yeah I yeah that one
concerns me all right let’s move on
and all the children verse two the
children of Israel complained against
Moses it’s a whole new experience right
there
and then Joshua spoke up and he said in
verse 8 he said if the Lord Delights in
us then he will bring us into this land
and give it to us a land which flows
with milk and honey only do not rebel
against the Lord nor fear the people of
the land for they are our
bread
if we see
spiritual conflict and warfare as God
does
let me insert here
I believe our awareness of spiritual
conflict and warfare is going to
increase without us becoming double
focused and that’s the essential part
for me
but if we were to see spiritual conflict
and warfare the way he sees it
we realize that our meal that which
strengthens us is in the fight
Samson was attacked by a lion
the spirit of the Lord came upon him he
killed the lion
it says and sometime later he walked by
the carcass of that deadline and there
was Honey in the carcass
his nourishment came
for from within the carcass of the enemy
he defeated
people are lacking nourishment and
strength simply because they’re running
from their assignment their assignment
is to bring defeat to these powers of
Darkness that are taunting the armies of
the Living God
it’s it’s a it’s a spiritual yes on our
part that just says I will not back down
from this I will not back down and
somehow that yes positions us to be
nourished
most people want to be nourished before
the war
he says you get nourished in the war
so here we have Samson nourished from
honey
that was in the carcass of the lion he
killed
the Lord put it this way in Psalms 23
David wrote he says
that there’s a banqueting table there’s
a table set before me in the presence of
my enemy so there’s a place of
nourishment in the place of spiritual
conflict
and here it says
these Giants
that are about to terrify this entire
nation keeping us out of our destiny out
of the will of God out of the purpose of
God for us as a nation those giants will
be food to us we just have to say yes to
what God is saying and in the process of
obeying the will of the Lord taking the
word of God putting it on our lips as
Jesus declared over his own future we
take the word of the Lord and we make
that Proclamation if we understood the
power of God’s word we would declare it
more often
the power of God’s word and so here’s
the situation where he says listen they
are our bread we’re going to be
nourished in this conflict
by by keeping ourselves from
the conflict we were born for we
actually keep ourselves from the
strength we were designed for from the
nourishment from the refreshing the
nutrients we were designed to be strong
in this season but the strength only
comes in the conflict
I’m trying I’m trying come on you and me
we we got this
one of the tragic stories most tragic
stories for me in in my reading of
scripture in the whole Bible is David in
his
failures fall with Bathsheba
and it’s the story kicks off of this
phrase that says in the time when kings
went out to war
David was in the palace
someone once said if if you’re not
in the battle you were born for
you’ll face a challenge you have no
Grace for
if you’re not in the battle you were
born for
none of us like conflict it’s not that
we Delight in conflicts that we Delight
in our Yes to God
see the only thing that matters right
now for me is what is God saying because
it requires my yes
well I’m not into buildings well I am
now I’m now into buildings why because
that’s what he said to do so I’m now
into buildings
and it’s that’s just the way you just
you adjust to whatever he’s saying and
you go yes yes
and so David at a time when he was
supposed to be
you know expanding Israel’s borders
dealing with the enemies that surround
them instead he’s on his Palace rooftop
lusting after a woman so he faces a
challenge that he had no Grace for
because he wasn’t in the battle he was
born for
I know all of us feel at times uh
positions of strength and positions of
great weakness
a lot of the a lot of the weakness that
many of us have dealt with through the
years is self-imposed
a self-imposed because we’re trying to
get ourselves psyched up for our next
phase of our life when actually it’s
saying yes to the next phase of our life
that helps us with the strength we need
it’s saying yes to what he’s saying that
positions me for the bread the Giants
become my food
the conflict becomes my food
see this kingdom is so so completely
different
so completely different than than how
all of us would naturally think and plan
you get hungry in this Kingdom by eating
not by not eating
in this Kingdom you actually Rise by
going low in this Kingdom we actually
received by giving it’s just things are
just different and adjusting our
perspective is critical so we got 12
Spies here
how many of them were able to taste of
the bread of defeated Giants
two two out of the twelve
here’s what I want you to catch
the complaining
the no the resistance to the challenge
to The Impossible
kept the ten spies
from enjoying enjoying a meal they were
designed for
it’s it’s in the yes it’s in the yes I
may feel disqualified I may feel too
weak I may feel a hundred things that
would logically keep me from my yes
but it’s in the yes the strength comes
the spirit of the Lord comes Upon Us in
the yes
that makes it possible for us to do what
we couldn’t have done five minutes
earlier and we were designed for that
it’s always been about
co-laboring so the spirit of the Lord
comes upon the one who says yes and then
they find themselves able to do what
they couldn’t do a moment earlier
that’s the nature of Grace
there’s food
in the carcass of the Lion
you’ll you’ll feed for a long time
from your yes
I believe the Lord has
really heightened our awareness
a number of different uh prophets and
friends of ours have have really warned
us in recent years
that if we delay we will have disobeyed
and I don’t I don’t mention that even
now as some sort of a threat or a fear
thing it’s just you know living with the
fear of God’s a huge a huge thing I’ve
I’ve said no when he was saying yes
before
and it doesn’t work out well
it doesn’t work out well
and the Lord has has already called us
if you will we’ve called this new
facility it’s a it’s um it’s Apostolic
resource center it’s a place you know
it’s not the place on planet Earth now
for me it is it’s the center of the
universe but not everyone
not everyone agrees with me there’s we
we don’t have any any station at the
United Nations yet so we’ll hold off on
that one but uh
but the Lord really is raising up a
company of people whose simple yes and
simple love and service for each other
carries a weight into the Nations who
can explain how a city like Redding
could have over a hundred different
nations living here
representatives from over 100 Nations
that’s that’s unheard of that’s not
logical
and none of us could have pulled that
off
but lest you forget your reason for
being here
the Lord is able to do what you and I
could never put together
it is his plan
but we’re at a crossroad that requires
another yes
and this yes I’m all in
I’m all in as much as I know how to be
all in I’m only
because this one requires the facing of
a giant I’ve never had to face before
and when I see it his way
I get hungry because there’s bread
there’s bread there
and it’s not gluten-free either
[Applause]
no
but but your gluten-free people will
like it it won’t hurt you
and I’m just going to trust there’s a
lot of butter with that bread because
honey I I need about half butter and
half bread that’s the way I do it
I would just say yes yes say it again
yes
say it again don’t stand and pray I’m
going to pray for you and then I’m going
to bring Chris up in just a moment
we still have more
we have more this we’re going to tag
team this one
how many of you are saying yes to this
uh this challenge that is before us
today this Horizon built I need to say
you say it out loud with me yes say it
again yes
father I
I asked that you would uh supernaturally
empower
yes
and that you would enable us as a church
family
to feed luxuriously
from the defeated enemies
who fall before us because of your work
not ours we say yes to you and we want
to fulfill everything we were designed
for
I asked for this for the honor of the
name Jesus
everybody said amen amen go ahead and
sit down welcome Chris as he comes