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Baker Publishing Group - Bill Johnson

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107 pages

English

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Two realities are evident in today's broken world: our culture is in desperate need, and our God is a miracle-working God. How do believers answer the world's cries for help in a way that reflects God's heart of compassion?According to bestselling author Bill Johnson, we simply embrace two additional realities: God's wisdom and his power. With biblical insight and extensive experience of seeing God's hand at work, Johnson offers keys to helping believers have the greatest impact on society. When we understand the long-term strategy of God's wisdom and the immediacy of his miracle-working power, we can have eternal impact and live with significance in the here and now, whether in our own lives and communities or in the farthest reaches of the world.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Pentecostalism

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	03 mars 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493430031
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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© 2015 by BRevived, LLC
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www . chosenbooks .com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www . bakerpublishinggroup . com
Previously published under the title The Power That Changes the World .
ISBN 978-1-4412-2922-9
Ebook edition created 2015
Ebook corrections 03.18.2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3003-1
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified The Amplified Bible are from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007
Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identified The Passion Translation are taken from Proverbs: Wisdom from Above , The Passion Translation®, copyright © 2014. Used by permission of BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin, USA. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover design by LOOK Design Studio
I dedicate this book to the thousands of graduates of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. You constantly inspire me by your sacrifice and passion. My prayer is that this book will be a strength to you as you give yourselves to help shape the course of world history and see cities and nations transformed by this wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Dedication 5
Foreword by Jack Hayford 7
Acknowledgments 9
1. The Greenhouse Effect 11
2. God Has a Dream 23
3. The Profound Prototype 33
4. The Reformer 47
5. The Nature of the Gift 61
6. The Big Test 75
7. The Power of Beauty 97
8. What Jesus Preached 111
9. Loving Babylon 131
10. Erasing Lines 149
11. No Devil, No Problem? 165
12. A Theology of Blessing 179
13. The Power of the Broken 197
14. Living Full 207
About the Author 221
Back Ad 223
Back Cover 225
Foreword
I wish that every pastor could (and would) experience a visit to Bethel Church in Redding, California. Without hesitation, I assure you that the likelihood that you will gain inspiration and insight is great. You will also observe integrity in the way the leadership teaches and governs amid the workings of the Holy Spirit.
This is because of what lies at the heart of the way Bill Johnson leads and teaches the congregation from the Word of God. He faithfully pursues and earnestly heeds the wisdom of God.
Although you will find some refreshing or “renewed” styles of ministry at Bethel, you will also find that the church is on a quest to avoid both the reticence of fear and the presumption of the excitable. I make this observation by reason of having ministered at Bethel and discovered that this church is not a circus, as one critic claimed. It is a pastureland where the lost or broken sheep of Christ’s flock are saved and healed, and where a congregation of thousands worships and is fed on the bread, milk and meat of the Word of God. The people are taught with passion and ministered to with faith that is applied with wisdom.
The fact that I can assert the above establishes no claim for Bethel as a “perfect” church. It does assure anyone, however, that Bethel is being “perfected” effectively and faithfully by wise, caring, discerning and sensitive leaders who honor this proverb: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7).
I believe your encounter with this book will expose you to “principal things”—the kind of things that, wisely applied, will afford you an opportunity to gain perspective on attitudes, practices and truths that anyone would do well to gather and make into life principles.
Jack Hayford, founding pastor, The Church On The Way
Acknowledgments
I want to give special thanks to Michael Van Tinteren, Kristy Tillman, Mary Berck and Judy Franklin for your help. I cannot imagine life without you on my personal team.
1 The Greenhouse Effect
A number of years ago I was speaking at a conference in the Netherlands. During an afternoon break our host took us to see some of the beauty of his country. We saw the windmills, the waterways, the dykes and some other things that contribute to the uniqueness and wonder of this nation. Because it was November, it was also windy, cold and rainy. This made the tour unpleasant. So that we could continue our sightseeing, he took us to one of the large greenhouses that contained a portion of the country’s incredible tulip crop. Holland’s tulip-growing industry produces about 80 percent of the world’s supply of that gorgeous flower.
Once inside, we saw row after row of beautiful flowers in every color, all planted in color-coded sections. The weather conditions in the greenhouse were completely different from the outdoors. While you would never consider it warm inside, it was pleasant. Plus, we were just glad to get in out of the cold. As we walked through the amazing selection of flowers, we noticed a photographer taking pictures of a gorgeous bride getting ready for her wedding. She was posing next to a manmade pond. Her reflection on the water made for some spectacular photos. Add to that setting the brilliant colors of the extraordinary flowers surrounding her, and you can imagine the beauty captured in her wedding pictures. It was wonderful. In a sense, though, it was another reality, because none of what we saw inside would survive outside the walls of that greenhouse. The flowers would not survive, and there certainly would not be a bride in her bridal gown out in that weather.
In order to have a continuous supply of tulips available to ship all over the world, growers needed to find a way to grow them in inclement weather. The answer to this dilemma was the greenhouse, a building designed to enable growers to control temperature, light and moisture so that the plants inside will grow easily. Just as a greenhouse is a controlled atmosphere that enables the growth and development of specific plants, so is the nature of a Kingdom culture. It changes what is possible in any environment. Done correctly, it is an atmosphere impregnated with the presence of God and the values of His Kingdom, and it influences how life is lived.
Establishing a Kingdom culture is vital because in most cities people do not realize that the demonic realms that were given permission to influence that city are often influencing their thinking. What a Kingdom atmosphere does is give people permission to think for themselves—to think clearly, which is the essence of the freedom that only the Holy Spirit can bring. Grace really is irresistible for those who see it clearly. Influencing the atmosphere in a place helps set the stage in such a way that people are much more likely to respond to the profound invitation given in the good news of the Kingdom. This is the greenhouse effect .
The Cart before the Horse
Throughout history, believers have given themselves to making an impact on the world with the message of salvation. Without a doubt, salvation is the greatest miracle of all—the forgiveness of sin and the transformation of a life. It is also the greatest need of humanity. In the process of discipleship that follows, we work to instill the values God has for us in all areas of our everyday lives. Embracing and displaying these values in a godly lifestyle reveals in many ways whether we are following Jesus or just attending church.
The goal of most believers is not only to convert people to Jesus Christ, but also to influence how life is lived in their homes, and also in their cities. The impact of the Church on the value system of our cities has been strong at some times, and seemingly nonexistent at other times. We must find out why and embrace the principles that foster change and transformation in the world around us. This is part of the reason we are here.
True disciples are governed by common values. For example, every group of believers wants to see healthy family life, with children growing up to become contributors to society. We also hate the abuse we have seen of women and children, and we are desperate to see that abomination removed from society.
Another thing we greatly value is seeing businesses succeed. They influence the culture and identity of their city by giving place to the rise of genuine city fathers and mothers. There is a hunger in a Kingdom culture for success to come without the pride and arrogance that often accompany wealth. Real success enables people to serve their community more effectively, and we ache for such values to permeate our culture.
As believers, we all want to see honest politicians elected who represent us well, and more importantly, who represent a biblically mandated value system. It would be wonderful to experience an admiration for leaders again instead of feeling as though we are electing the lesser of two evils.
We long, as well, to see members of the media shaped by personal integrity and driven by a value for the truth. The bent toward