Hosting The Presence Bill Johnson Quotes

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.

Anyone who knows who God made them to be will never try to be someone else.

We have been given the privilege to host this presence. The Holy Spirit is in me for my sake but he is upon me for yours.

Being willing to do what you are not qualified to do is sometimes what qualifies you.

Gifts are free; maturity is expensive.

Every peace-filled moment you experience brings terror to the powers of darkness.

The promise of the Father, the coming of the Holy Spirit, reintroduces us to the original purpose for humanity—a people suited to carry the fullness of God on earth.

I believe he looks for a generation that will embrace and carry the privilege and responsibility of hosting the presence of God in such a way that we break into the realms of impossibility.

When God is serving wine, drink. When He’s serving bread, eat.

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.

Jesus made it possible for humanity to host the fullness of God on the earth. The Holy Spirit has empowered us to carry out this purpose.

July 21 Being full of Holy Spirit is not evidenced in tongues; it is evidenced by being full.

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.

God’s job is to get me to Heaven. My job is not to go to Heaven; my job is to bring Heaven to earth through my prayers and obedience.

Saying what the Father is saying releases the creative nature and Presence of God into a situation to bring His influence and change.

Show me how to carry Your Presence boldly, not trying to reduce Your truth in fear of offending people.

When the Church discovers who she is, she no longer wants to be rescued. There’s a big difference between being rescued from the big bad devil and being taken up for a wedding. And only one is acceptable for a believing believer.

Because of the Holy Spirit living inside of me, I am able to do the very works that Jesus did. His experience is an example for what I should expect from my Christian life. Thank You, Lord, that I can do all things because of Your Presence living within me!

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.

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.

Learning to host the Presence of God is the biggest challenge of the Christian life.

To be all we can be requires that we are more dependent on God.

April 4 Too many things get swept under the carpet called the Sovereignty of God. IN A FALSE understanding of sovereignty, God gets blamed for whatever happens in life. People often assume everything that happens must be His will because He is God. This perspective does not consider the exchange that took place in Eden, nor does it bring to mind Jesus’ own words to the devil during His temptation. There is an enemy with an agenda of his own. He is not all-powerful, but he is certainly cunning. He is ever looking for an inroad of agreement. He talks and talks until we actually buy in to his deception. Much of what we mistakenly brand as the sovereignty of God is actually the world operating under demonic influence. From disease to disaster, we must reconsider how we approach everything that steals, kills, and destroys. The problem is when we identify these things as God’s sovereign will. That simply isn’t true. God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Is anyone perishing? Yes. Is it God’s will? No. Because of that, I tend to emphasize the role that we play in the outcome of things. From the outset, God formed man to collaborate with. This tells me that we play a vital role in the unfolding of Heaven’s agenda on earth. God is not powerless, waiting for man to dictate His next move. This is the other side of imbalance. By sovereign decision, God Almighty has set up a system where man, indwelt by His Presence, has been restored to a position of authority on the earth. It is time for us to step into this identity even more to bring about God’s restorative solutions into a world marred by the consequences of sin. DAILY SCRIPTURE READING 2 PETER 3:8-9 PRAYER Lord, teach me what things I can actually change for the better by praying or declaring or by taking action. As I step out to play a part in bringing Heaven to earth, thank You for encouraging me through testimonies and answered prayers. These continue to strengthen my faith and cause me to keep taking risks.

April 3 There is an obvious progression in the revelation of God for His people and an increase in His manifest Presence and glory. GOD MEANT IT when He said, “Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end” (Isa. 9:7). There has only been increase since those words were spoken. More and more, on earth as it is in Heaven is becoming a reality in our midst. We have to adjust how we think and see to not only realize it but cooperate with what God is doing. His Kingdom is one of increase and expansion. This work will continue until Numbers 14:21 comes to pass: “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Again Scripture says of us, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (Prov. 4:18 NASB). We should and must expect progress. After all, we are citizens of an unshakeable Kingdom that has no end. Our very purpose in life is intertwined with the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom and the unveiling of God’s glory. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you have a vital role in being one who participates in the increase of His government. DAILY SCRIPTURE READING ISAIAH 9:1-7 PRAYER Father, thank You for the commission to be part of increasing Your Kingdom on the earth. Show me what this looks like in my life today and how I can spread Your goodness, love, joy, peace, healing, and justice in my sphere of influence.

This is the responsibility of all Kingdom citizens. We represent our true homeland by bringing its culture to our temporary abode—the earth.

WHETHER OR NOT we believe that Heaven is open does not negate the truth that it is. Our thoughts do not alter the open heaven over our lives; instead, they determine whether or not we partake of this reality. Jesus Christ secured an open heaven for every single Spirit-indwelt believer. This is a fact. The question is: Do our minds agree with this fact or do they entertain a lie?

God is a Person, not a machine. He longs for fellowship.

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.

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.

it also implies there are ways of the Holy Spirit that are yet to be discovered.

Our true nature and personality will never come to fullness apart from His manifest Presence. Learning to host Him is at the center of our assignment, and it must become our focus so that we can have the success He desires before Jesus returns.

The focus was not on herself. It was on Him.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The measure we are aware of our need for Him is usually the measure we become aware of Him. It really is all about the Presence. It’s about hosting Him.

BECAUSE OF PENTECOST, Heaven and earth would be able to enjoy increased collision. Jesus was one Man anointed. There was only so much Heaven that even Jesus, God Himself, could bring to earth as one man indwelt by the Presence of God. Even though in a moment Jesus could have chosen to flood every dimension of space with His manifest glory, He had another plan in mind. To bring two worlds together, He was going to use humanity. Those He had created in His image and likeness to extend the borders of Eden would be responsible, once again, for extending borders. DAILY SCRIPTURE READING ACTS 2:14-21 PRAYER Holy Spirit, You have come to bring two worlds together. As I host Your Presence, I am fulfilling what was written in the prophet Joel. Your Spirit is being poured out upon all flesh. Use me to participate in this great outpouring, that every eye would see and every heart would know that You are at work in the earth.

PRAYER Holy Spirit, help me to welcome the unusual and supernatural. These are the very things that the world longs for.