Bill Johnson continues his series, The Beauty of Wisdom, and teaches from Jesus’ beatitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit”. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Staying conscious of our need for God is what keeps us positioned to recognize what God is doing in the earth. God is not looking for people who want fame and influence, but for those who will surrender their lives to Him, willing to say “yes” to whatever He is saying. Being poor in spirit, choosing to live in dependency on the Lord, is what positions us to be used powerfully by Him. This is the seventh sermon in Bill Johnson’s series, The Beauty of Wisdom. Watch the full series here: 
• The Beauty of Wisdom Series | Bill Jo… Subscribe for weekly videos: https://bit.ly/bjmYoutube Connect with Bill Johnson Ministries: Website: http://bjm.org/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/bjmFacebook Instagram: https://bit.ly/bjmInstagram Mailing List: https://bit.ly/bjmMailingList Additional Resources: https://shop.bethel.com/collections/b… The Beauty of Wisdom Series is available for purchase here: https://shop.bethel.com/products/the-… Scripture References: Psalm 131: 1 1 Kings 3 Matthew 6-7 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 #TheBeautyOfWisdom #Beatitudes
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I’m not looking for
people who want to be famous or powerful
I’m looking for porn spirit
I’m looking for those who are willing to
say God you can do whatever you want
with me
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thought of himself differently
than you might realize sometimes we
equate his accomplishments his
achievements with
human skills
psychological skills of determination
stick-to-itiveness
diligence
and all those things are essential
but David thought of himself differently
in Psalms 131
verse 1 it says
David says of himself he says I don’t
involve myself
in complicated matters
probably richest man on the planet most
powerful man on the planet governing the
most
powerful Nation on the planet
with unbelievable responsibility of
government management development
Warfare
conquering enemies around them that guy
says I don’t involve myself in
complicated matters
there’s something in that statement
that I think prophesies
his strength to us
and his strength was not human devotion
his strength was not human discipline
his strength was none of those things
that I do think have value
his strength was he completely and
totally depended on God to show up to do
what only he could do
when Solomon his son became king
there’s this incredible Moment In First
Kings chapter 3.
in this
chapter
Solomon is sleeping
and the Lord appears to him in his sleep
and he says ask
what I shall do for you
foreign
I know this is material we’ve talked
about before but I I can’t help but
I’m just fascinated by how a person can
be so intentionally trained for Divine
Purpose that God can show up to them
while they’re sleeping and actually
trust them to make a decision that will
last for the rest of their life you can
trust them with a decision while they’re
sleeping
because he’s sleeping God says ask what
I’ll do for you and Solomon says I want
wisdom and the Lord says you have what
you’ve asked for actually literally he
didn’t ask for wisdom he asked for a
hearing ear which gives us the other
side of the coin the hearing ears what
gives us access to wisdom it’s an
acknowledgment it is not a human wisdom
it is wisdom from another world and if I
don’t hear you I won’t get it
and he prays this prayer in his sleep
because he was prepared for purpose as a
child as a young child he was groomed
for the responsibility privilege and
position of leading the nation of Israel
but the thing that preceded his prayer
request was a confession
this is in First Kings three I’m sorry
I’m just making references I
when we do it again I’ll be more
more teacher-like
Maybe
he said
he said God I’m a I’m a child this is
King Solomon God shows up in his sleep
and he says ask what I’ll do for you and
he says God he says I’m I’m a child
I don’t know how to go out
I don’t know how to come in
I don’t know how to carry this that
you’ve assigned to me
to be king I don’t know how to do it
I don’t have the ability to go out and
represent that office well and come back
in here and live in a way that is
consistent with my assignment I don’t
have the capacity
and I’ve got this feeling
that if you’re not overwhelmed by your
assignment then you don’t see your
assignment clearly
because just the revelation of purpose
brought the most powerful men on the
planet to his knees in his sleep
and he says God I’ve got to have a
hearing here
and the Lord spoke to me said because
you didn’t ask for wealth fame or long
life
I’m going to give to you all the things
you didn’t ask for and I’m going to give
to you wisdom it’s very similar to the
prayer seek first the kingdom and all
these things will be added it is a
kingdom principle when your priorities
are right there’s a trickle effect on
things you don’t pray about
there’s a trickle effect on things that
don’t matter to you that suddenly matter
to God and they become some of the most
pronounced parts of your life
[Music]
Jesus came along and identified this
trait that was in King David in this
trait that was in Solomon
and in the most famous sermon of all
time
The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5 6 and
7.
Jesus started with these words he said
blessed the word blessed means happy
profoundly happy
blessed are those who are poor
in spirit
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
blessed are the poor in spirit
poor in spirit
is not a place of self-criticism
it’s not a place of self
beating you know oneself self-judgment
self-condemnation it’s none of those
things
in fact all of that is a counterfeit
foreign spirit
so you can tell the difference when
you’re filled with with self-judgment
criticism condemnation all that garbage
you don’t have the courage to take a
risk
but the porn spirit will take risks
because their entire life is dependent
on God showing up because he’s a god of
Promise he’s a god of Covenant you can
tell you can tell instantly whether or
not you have the Readiness to take great
risk
because that evidence reveals
the trait that’s working in me now is
poor in spirit it is not self-criticism
it’s interesting the Bible says if
you’re merciful
blessed are the merciful for they shall
obtain
this this is not a trick question I know
you don’t trust me and I don’t blame you
because I have tricked you before
but let’s try it again blessed are the
merciful for they shall obtain mercy so
if you’re merciful you obtain Mercy but
if you’re poor in spirit you get the
whole Kingdom
poor in spirit gives you access to the
entire Realm
not just a taste of a particular Realm
poor and spirit is the qualifier porn
spirit is what made David great poor in
spirit is What attracted God into the
bedroom while Solomon was sleeping and
gave him an option that he couldn’t
trust anyone else with
it was born in spirit
gave him the kingdom
this is transferred into Jesus’s life
and throughout the gospels one of the
most
astonishing realities that I
that I see in the gospels is that
you have well-trained students of the
word
well-trained
students of scripture
that were Clueless
let’s do Jesus was when they saw him
they were trained to know
what was supposed to happen and when
they completely missed the guy that was
standing in front of them
it doesn’t mean that being a student of
scripture is a strike against you it
just means if you’re a student of
scripture you better have an ear
because it’s the Holy Spirit who
interprets his own book
self-world in scripture only brings a
resistance to the move of the spirit of
God
[Music]
it’s way too easy to
to think you know how God is going to
show up next
and for that reason
the scribes and Pharisees the Sadducees
this were a group of people that were
trained in the scripture but they
completely missed Jesus when he showed
up
I know strangely The Prostitute knew
exactly who he was
the tax collector is basically a legal
Thief
government-sponsored Thief
he knew exactly who Jesus was claimed a
tree just to get a better look
and you go through the list of the bad
guys of the New Testament
they all knew who he was
because there’s something about
give me a moment to explain this because
it’s going to sound weird
ready
there’s something about being locked in
sin
that creates an awareness of need
that those who are well trained in
scripture become insulated to their own
awareness of need
and it’s the awareness of need
that actually positions a person to
recognize what God is doing
when he’s doing something
and we I watched it here 18 years ago
when that outpouring
started here I watched it
I don’t want to say I was surprised but
it’s always a journey I watched
so many people that I thought would
respond so
was such Zeal and surrender
couldn’t get to the back door fast
enough
because it just didn’t make sense to
them and then I watched people that I
never thought would respond
to the move of the spirit of God lay
down everything
I I I try now I don’t want to say I’ve
learned my lesson but I try now to not
try to figure anything out
because I struck out so many times it’s
embarrassing
but I watched as people
would come in and I I watched as drug
addicts and people that are on the last
leg of their married life or
they’re so broken in life for whatever
reason a thousand different reasons
maybe the results of war or whatever it
might be and they would come in you know
what I don’t remember one of those folks
ever having a problem
with the move of God that was happening
in the building
the only people that had a problem are
those that were trained
it’s just there’s something about the
the condition of life that says I’m a
person in need that helps you to filter
through stuff
there’s something and it doesn’t mean
there has to be sin to be aware of need
but you know it’s just inescapable
Jesus looked at a group of people the
the religious leaders and he and he said
to them he said
the well don’t need a physician
who were the sickest people on the
planet the people he was talking to
but if they didn’t recognize their
disease they couldn’t value what he
brought them does that make sense
[Applause]
oh
I
this last week Benny and I were in
Toronto as I’ve mentioned and probably I
I think maybe the greatest honor of my
life was to be just to be in the room to
be honest with you with some of these
Heroes of mine
who I now know personally and I watched
them at the dinner table I watched them
by the side of the pool because we do
spend a few days together every year
just resting and kind of downloading
debriefing I should say and what what we
see God doing
and they’re the same by the side of the
pool they’re the same in the restaurant
they’re the same
in all of these
places of rest as they are
in a public gathering
leading a great meeting of Revival or
healing
and to be in a room with these folks
that are now celebrating a 20-year
anniversary
and then to have somebody stand and say
I had a dream
and in this dream
a very large wave
caught up to and overtook a smaller wave
now let’s be frank here
now smaller weight is the biggest wave
I’ve ever seen
and it was quite terrifying
and now I get told a bigger wave is
going to overtake
what has changed my life forever
no I don’t I don’t mean this in a in a
in a condemning way just hear me out but
I’m concerned because I know history
and in history those who experienced the
last wave are seldom at the Forefront of
the next one
and oftentimes don’t experience it at
all why because in knowing nothing they
learned how God moves
and now they know what to expect next
time and almost disqualify themselves
and God once again has to find people
who don’t know what they’re doing
why because the poor in spirit get the
whole Kingdom
so I want you to stand
thank you
if we only had one Sunday morning
service and this was it
I’d have an altar called and make all of
you come forward
[Music]
but we have to curtail things a little
bit but I know God is big enough to
whack you where you are
what takes a guy
like Randy Clark who
is one of our closest friends
and takes them from a guy who passed us
a small Church in St Louis
to Toronto and he lays hands
on a guy named Leif hetland
who was a Norwegian Baptist
Pastor who had never prayed for the sick
had never done anything of any
significance in that regard and Randy
prays for him and says I see you as a
bulldozer going to the dark places of
the Earth
only to find that God suddenly has
changed his entire life from a Baptist
Norwegian Pastor to an evangelist that
goes into Pakistan and who has
personally LED over one million Muslim
pakistanis to the Lord Jesus
one
one more person
that just received
a touch
I’m not looking for
people who want to be famous or powerful
I’m looking for porn spirit
I’m looking for those
who are willing to say God you can do
whatever you want with me I prayed that
prayer I
it’s not important for now but had the
encounter of my lifetime
and I feel like the Lord wants to do it
again
[Music]
and I I don’t want to miss it
I don’t want to be an observer
I want to be a participant
I I don’t want to know
enough to disqualify me
I hope that makes sense to somebody
besides me I’m I’m saying Amen in my
heart to what I’m saying
let’s ask him to do it again
go ahead
Holy Spirit Come
reignite us
new mantles for a new day
prepare us for the greater wave
of presence of Glory of purpose
yielded Hearts yielded Hearts yielded
Hearts yielded hearts
poor in spirit let there be a Grace
released for poor in spirit
almost as though it were a gift
a gift that could be in power to do
something
in US
that makes us ever ready to take great
risks
Lord increase this I Pray increase
again again again Lord
a fresh fresh baptism of Fire
afresh
fresh baptism of fire god
even those who watch
on TV of fresh baptism of Fire
fresh mighty outpouring the baptism of
fire come Lord
yes increase this increases
increases
increase it again God
crease it again
increase it again
that’s God that’s God just let her be
[Music]
that’s God
thank you
more
just just pray that most famous prayer
of all more Lord
or right here start right here with me
more God
go deeper go deeper go deeper go deeper
more
more increase this sport
increase increase this God
let’s put a hand on someone next to you
if you’d like and just pray for them
just pray God just double it just
increase it increase so dramatically
increase it so dramatically God
increases so dramatic
increase increase
[Music]
[Music]
without limit beyond measure
increase this God
[Music]
increase this Lord God increase this
Lord God increase increase
thank you
more
more
God go deeper still go deeper still
more
[Music]
more God more
[Music]
excuse
[Music]
increase
[Music]
he’s not through if you’re not through
hahaha
[Music]
thank you
pray bold prayers
pray bold prayers
pray bold prayers pray costly prayers
costly prayers pay expensive prayers
okay
[Music]
do it again Lord God do it again
do it again most high
do it again
[Applause]
[Music]
do it again
do it again fresh fresh baptism of Fire
Lord God do it again
increase this time
increase this time
increase
let the greater wave overtake the
smaller way
God we don’t want to read about it we
don’t want to just hear about it we just
want to sing about it
God do it in this city do it in this
house
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
thank you
[Music]
yes God yes God yes God
yes God
we say yes God we say yes
we say yes God
we say yes
yes God
yes God
[Applause]
we do we say yes
this week could very well be the most
important week of our life
it’s quite possible for many in this
room that this week
well defined the remainder of your days
and we say yes before it even starts
they say yes we say yes
his name is
[Music]
[Music]
Jesus I love you
I love you cause your name is
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
Jesus I love you
I love you
[Music]
yes God
thank you
Spirit of the Living
God
for
afresh
on me
[Music]
[Music]
man
melt me
Fill Me You
[Music]
you feel
[Music]
fresh
sing it again
[Music]
Spirit of
the Living God
[Music]
‘s
spirit
[Music]
for our fresh eyes
[Music]
about me more
fear
me
here
[Music]
please
[Music]
melt
[Music]
now
to me
more me
feel
me
you
use me spirit
s
[Music]
hello
[Music]
oftentimes I wake up to pray
but there was a season where I would
wake myself up praying
and there is a difference
and those Seasons where I would actually
wake myself up because I was praying
well I don’t want to at all put it on
the same level or magnitude of Solomon’s
visitation
and the night I would like to say
when you’re possessed with purpose
he trusts you with decisions you make in
your sleep
and you find yourself doing things even
while you sleep that contribute to your
destiny
and I pray Lord God that right now you
would apprehend the hearts the Minds The
Souls of everybody in this room
everybody watching online everybody
who’s listening to podcasts I ask the
same ask for a great visitation
a Great and Mighty outpouring of the
Holy Spirit
and we just pray God
let the greater wave overtake the
smaller way
[Music]
and with Reckless abandonment to you we
say
Bring It On Jesus and please let us be
apart