Home > Work > Hosting the Presence: Unveiling Heaven's Agenda
1 " Worship has become a primary part of life. It’s wonderful when it’s in the corporate gathering. But it’s shallow when it’s only corporate. My personal life must be one of continuous worship to experience the transformations that I long for. We always become like the one we worship. "
― Bill Johnson , Hosting the Presence: Unveiling Heaven's Agenda
2 " Giving place to the Presence of God as our greatest joy and treasure is not a trick we use to get miracles. But the Father cannot be adequately represented without miracles. They are essential in revealing His nature. "
3 " I can’t afford to live in reaction to darkness. If I do, darkness has had a role in setting the agenda for my life. The devil is not worthy of such influence, even in the negative. Jesus lived in response to the Father. I must learn to do the same. "
4 " Anyone who knows who God made them to be will never try to be someone else. "
5 " Being willing to do what you are not qualified to do is sometimes what qualifies you. "
6 " Gifts are free; maturity is expensive. "
7 " The first person to touch Jesus in His natural birth was obviously Mary, the virgin. But who was the first to touch Him at His second birth—His resurrection from the dead? Mary Magdalene! She’s the one who had seven demons cast out of her and was healed of infirmities (see Mark 16:9)! The Virgin Mary, representing purity and all that is right, welcomed Jesus into the world for His role of fulfilling the Law and becoming the perfect sacrifice. Mary Magdalene, the one who had been sick and tormented by devils, represents the unanswerable needs of the spirit, soul, and body. She welcomed Him into the world for His role of building a family out of the least pure or qualified in any way. The Virgin introduced the One who would close out the dispensation of the Law. The tormented one introduced Jesus into the season of grace where everyone would be welcomed. "
8 " When God is serving wine, drink. When He’s serving bread, eat. "
9 " We have authority over any storm we can sleep in. You have to have peace to give it away. Abiding in peace makes us a threat to any storm. "
10 " Satan is limited in every way. God gave him his gifts and abilities at his own creation. There has never been a battle between God and satan. The entire realm of darkness could be forever wiped out with a word. But God chose to defeat him through those made in His own likeness—those who would worship God by choice. "
11 " Had the devil known that killing Jesus the Christ (the Anointed One) would make it possible for millions of “anointed ones” to fill the earth as the fruit of Jesus’ death, he never would have crucified Him. "
12 " wish so much that we would learn to recognize when the Spirit of God is actually moving on someone else. Perhaps with honor we could learn how to avail ourselves of what He is doing in and through them so that we, too, would be impacted more intentionally by His Presence. "
13 " Learning to host the Presence of God is the biggest challenge of the Christian life. "
14 " When Jesus wanted to be baptized in water by John, John knew he wasn’t qualified (see Matt. 3:14). But when you’re willing to do what you’re unqualified to do, that’s what qualifies you. "
15 " He is the Holy Spirit, making holiness a huge part of the focus of our lives. Yet He is as good as He is holy. I get concerned when people have the holiness ambition without discovering the cornerstone of our theology: God is good. I have learned that all my ambition, discipline, and deeply felt repentance had little effect on my life as it pertains to holiness. A holy lifestyle has become the natural result of delighting in the One who is holy—the One who accepts me as I am. All the sweaty efforts have not changed anything in my life worth mentioning, except to make me prideful and miserable. I wish I had discovered this aspect of the Christian life much earlier in my walk with the Lord. It certainly would have saved me years of frustration. "