Sid: My guest by way of telephone is Pastor Bill Johnson. I’m speaking to him at his office in Bethel Church where he’s Senior Pastor in Redding, California. Under Bethel Church is the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. I want to find out from you in a few moments what happens when your students are turned lose what kind of results are they getting. But before that you have teaching in your book that is just revelation knowledge. For instance, I wonder if you would teach for just a little bit on the revelation God’s given you from the Lord’s Prayer.
Bill: I’d love to. The Lord’s Prayer really has two basic parts to it. The first part is Our Father who art in heaven hallow it be Thy Name. It begins with praise with thankfulness and praise and worship, it’s our ministry to God. The prayer ends with that “Thine is the Kingdom, the power the glory forever Amen.” It begins and ends with this ministry to God. But the second part of the prayer is “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And that prayer is the absolute backbone for everything a Christian ever prays and everything a Christian ever does. The model for life and ministry here on earth is supposed to be heaven. When we pray that we are not praying for Jesus to return to take us away from the earth. He is saying pray “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is the heaven.” And the original language I am told it’s in a tense that basically means this “Kingdom of God come! Will of done be done!” It’s an imperative of a command, a charge if you will. And the Kingdom means “The Kings domain.” The Kings dominion, it’s wherever the King of Kings has dominion is realized. In somebodies body it brings healing; in somebody’s finances it brings blessing and increase. In somebody’s marriage it brings peace and harmony and unity and all those things. So there’s two parts of the prayer, there’s the worship expression and then there’s the prayer that models everything in this life after what happens in heaven. “On earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus then goes into specific aspects of our life. He talks about “They Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.” Heaven now becomes the model for my resources. Paul said this in Philippians where he said “Our provisions would be according to riches of glory in Christ Jesus.” That heaven becomes the model for the way I relate to my material world, to the physical things around me. On earth as it is in heaven affects how we relate to material things. So He says “Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Now the reality of heaven is to affect the way that I relate to people and it’s to affect my relationship. And that’s a clear teaching of the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians and elsewhere. So now the reality of heaven affects our finances, the way we relate to the material world. How it affects our relationships and our forgiveness that we don’t hold bitterness or hostility towards people. We take on the spirit of reconciliation the beginning of every day to minister to people around us. And then the third part is “Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” So now he is asking us to pray that the reality of heaven would affect the way that we relate to evil and the world of conflict around us. So heaven really is the model for everything that’s to happen on our life in earth. That’s why he goes on to say later, “That we’re to bind here what been already bound in heaven, we are to loose here what’s already loosed in heaven.” He teaches at the end of Matthew 6 that “We’re to seek first the Kingdom of God” We’re to seek first the dominion of God and His righteousness and all of these other things in life will be added to us. I have the conviction that he’s not saying “If I seek first the Kingdom then God will take care of those issues for me. I have the conviction that He’s saying “If you seek first the Kingdom you’ll discover that the Kingdom comes fully equipped. That God brings order into finances, into family, into the way we relate to temptation and the difficulties of life.” And the Kingdom is an absolute complete message and it was the message that Jesus left for us to carry.
Sid: Now I reminded a number of years ago you were praying a prayer that “I want more of You Lord at any cost.” Do you believe that if each one of us was to pray a prayer like that we would have more of God?
Bill: Absolutely, it’s impossible to pray and not move heaven. Any prayer that moves me is going to move Him. And if it’s something that I will be relentless in and make sure it’s not a casual prayer but it’s something that really moves me. It affects my life it’s impossible to pray and not get heard.
Sid: But you have to be really serious because you might say “Lord I want more of You at any cost but don’t tamper with this, this and this.”
Bill: (Laughing)
Sid: It’s kind of like “No holds barred Lord.”
Bill: Yeah, exactly.
Sid: Anything.
Bill: Exactly, you can’t put restrictions on Him.
Sid: And I happen to believe that this precise moment in history that there are anointing’s being poured out for people that are willing to pray a prayer of consecration like that.
Bill: You’re right absolutely right.
Sid: Tell me about the students in your Supernatural Ministry School. You take them out to see the poor they go into a nursing homes. Give me some examples of what’s going on with them.
Bill: They have different types of hobbies than when I grew up. Some of them will actually go down to emergency room of the hospital to find sick people to pray for. It’s not an organized outreach it’s just what they decide to do when they get together. And they sit in the emergency room; they look around the room and God gives them a word of knowledge for somebody. They go minister to them and that person begins to weep; they get their emotional part of life healed up God heals them physically, it’s amazing. They’ll drive down the street; the one God saying “God I want to just do whatever you want me to do.” And she was going to her friend’s house and the Lord spoke to her clearly and told her to drive straight. She was going to turn right, He said “Drive straight.” So she does and she looks on the side of the road and there’s a man there with a brace on his arm. So she pulled the car over because she remembered “There’s no braces on the arms in heaven so there shouldn’t be any here on earth. She pulls over to the side of the road, and asks the man…
Sid: Excuse me that’s a very important point isn’t it?
Bill: It’s how we live.
Sid: State that again.
Bill: “It’s on earth as it is in heaven.” She saw that there was a brace on the arm of a man; she was convicted over the fact that doesn’t exist in heaven, it’s not to exist here. That’s our commission. Our commission is “On earth as it is in heaven.” And we do it through the power of the gospel. So she pulled over the side of the road she said “Could I pray for you Sir?” And she had come to find out that the brace on his leg, right arm and right leg because he had a brain aneurism 11 years earlier. In about 10 minutes of prayer for both his arm and leg. He had both his braces off and was completely healed after 11 years of affliction from a brain aneurism. And there’s just… we call it a drive by shooting you know it’s just…
Sid: Tell me about in the book you talk about Jason and the guy on jury duty.
Bill: Yeah, yeah well these things are almost every day. I mean we could name so many stories. He’s in a jury he see a gentleman in a wheelchair and his cry is “On earth as it is in heaven.” So he goes over and begins to talk to the guy and ask if he can pray? And he says “What if I don’t stand up, what if I don’t get healed?” And Jason replied “What if you do?” And all that did was just cause him to have a spark of courage. Whenever that happens as you ministering to people that’s when you have to act quickly. So he quickly prayed and the man stood up in front of about probably about 100 people in the room. Waved his arms around and hadn’t been able to do anything of that nature for years. And our young man then spoke out in front of everyone “God is here to heal.” And before it was all said and done there was a couple of others that received a miracle in their body.
Sid: Now explain to me what you mean “When that spark comes you have to move quickly.”
Bill: Well, I had a guy in my office that had broken his back it was very very serious physical problems and we were talking about something else. And I asked him “What’s up with your back?” And he told me “I know that God will probably like to heal me but I just get in the way.” And I said “Oh, you’re not big enough.” And all I did was cause him to doubt his doubt he didn’t doubt his unworthiness. He didn’t move into faith, but it just rocked his world enough that I had to jump in quickly and pray before he started reasoning through this thing again. People create mental offenses to block God from moving and it’s important when we see that wall drop to step in their quickly and pray the prayer of faith. So I did and the Lord did an amazing miracle on his back. He was completely healed and he walked out muttering to himself “I can’t do this” as he would continue to bend over and touch the ground. So we try to act quickly when we see… not that a person necessarily moves in faith, but if they can just get out that being controlled by that spirit of unbelief we have a real opportunity to serve them.
Sid: You know I happen to believe because I have your book right in front of me that someone that reads you book and does what it says will get the same types of results as your students. I really believe that.
Bill: Oh absolutely, we see it happen all over the world.
Sid: You know I’ve interviewed Heidi Baker and this woman her ministry is so sensational. I mean so many people have been raised from the dead not just her praying others under her praying for it. But this is what she says about your book “In his book ‘When Heaven Invades Earth’ Bill Johnson shows people who are desperate for more in their Christian life that all things are possible to those who live immersed in the Holy Spirit. This book is a must read for all people who desire to walk in the supernatural realm of the Holy Spirit in their everyday life. I was so touched by the Lord as I read it my faith exploded; I could hardly put it down.”
