Four City News writers recommend their favorite books by preacher and author Bill Johnson.
The senior leader of Bethel Church comes from a family of pastors. Pastor Bill is a fifth generation pastor with a rich heritage of the things of the Spirit. He is known for his messages on kingdom culture and has written several books on this topic.
In conjunction with his upcoming services, we asked four City News writers—all avid readers, of course—to recommend their favorite Bill Johnson book.
When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide To A Life Of Miracles (2005)
It is possible for humans to walk in the divine, and Christ came to show the way. This book teaches Christians to rediscover their true identity in Christ so that they can begin to move into the promises of God regarding the miraculous. By laying a carefully constructed Biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God, When Heaven Invades Earth constructs a framework to experience the miraculous through 40 days of exercises and meditations.
Yong Yung Shin, a freelance writer in her 30s, recommends this. “One of the first books by Bill Johnson I read was When Heaven Invades Earth, from which I learned a valuable lesson: over-introspection is not God’s will for us. We should seek to obey God but trust in Him to point out where we’re going wrong. After all, the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of sin and gives us the grace to change.”
Her favorite extract from the book: “It was easy to think that being constantly aware of my faults and weakness was humility. It’s not! True brokenness causes complete dependency on God, moving us to radical obedience that releases the power of the gospel to the world around us.”
God Is Good: He’s Better Than You Think (2016)
The statement “God is good” is more than a positive thought, theological concept or Biblical statement. What you do with these three words defines your reality and determines your destiny. In a world of fear, disease, crisis, torment, uncertainty and hopelessness, what you believe about God’s goodness reveals how you will respond to the trials and circumstances of everyday life. Pastor Bill invites Christians to build their lives on the unshakable foundation: the assurance that God is good.
Michelle Heng, 30, a marketing manager, loves this book. “I love that this book brings a clear and correct perspective of God’s goodness. It made me reflect upon and ‘undo’ certain thoughts I had about God that were based more on my own theories and life experiences, rather than the Word,” she says.
“For example, Pastor Bill writes that ‘saying God allowed a terrible thing to happen is pretty much the same as saying He caused it.’ This is true even for Christians, who wrongly believe God sends sickness and death to our loved ones when He is in fact not the Source of such sickness and death.
“Pastor Bill also writes that “God’s people are to be known for their hope”, and I pray our faith is so anchored in God’s goodness that we will live in hope, beyond our natural circumstances!”
Momentum: What God Starts, Never Ends (2011)
Pastor Bill co-wrote this one with his son, Eric, the senior pastor of the local Bethel Church in Redding, California. They share their own perspectives and experiences on this topic of issues that hinder personal and corporate revivals from continuing. Every believer has access to live in a momentum that was initiated from the beginning of time. Momentum encourages readers to embrace their inheritance and step into the momentum of the Kingdom!
Beverly Ng, 23, a digital marketer says, “’Momentum‘ taught me that we cannot be small-minded or complacent when it comes to the growth of our church, spiritual lives and connect groups.”
Her favorite extracts from the book: “The spirit that rejected Jesus at Nazareth is the same spirit that is unable to celebrate someone else (see Matt. 13:53-58). The people of Nazareth were familiar with Jesus. When we are familiar with people, we tend to no longer celebrate what we see in them.”
“Our identity is to not be tied into what we do or to our surroundings; it is to be tied solely to the Creator. It is from the Creator that true identity comes. God not only created the universe, He gave everything an identity from which it is to operate. Apart from this identity, we will fall short of the fullness that He intended.”
Dreaming With God: Co-laboring With God For Cultural Transformation (2006)
In Dreaming With God, Pastor Bill reveals the secrets of using God’s unlimited supply of everything to transform your family and community, your job or business, the nation, and the world.
City News‘ senior editor, Theresa Tan has read and re-read this book, and given away multiple copies to her lucky cell group members and friends.
“Before I came to church, I was a playwright and magazine writer. When I accepted Christ I thought my worldly talents were supposed to be retired and all my writing would henceforth be only for the Lord, i.e. holy stories, church plays, etc,” she said. “This book transformed my thinking completely. Pastor Bill explains that our imaginations are a gift from the Lord, and when our imagination is sanctified, it is positioned for visions and dreams. But because the church is so scared of imagination, that the secular world then supersedes God’s people in dreaming and envisioning creative things. He writes, “When unbelievers lead the way in inventions and artistic expression, it is because the church has embraced a false kind of spirituality.” That hit me like ten tons of bricks.
“Dreaming With God taught me that not only must I exercise my gift of creativity, I must bring it captive to Christ, I must display divine wisdom, and creative expression must be my normal expression! We are called to lead in our creative gifting—whether we are writers, teachers, doctors, musicians, mothers—to “infiltrate the world with skilful wisdom from above”, as he puts it. Our creative gifts, our visions and dreams have the power to pull down strongholds! How exciting is that?
“This book will inspire readers over and over again, and give you the courage to dream that dream with the Lord, and bring it to pass.”
Her favorite extract from the book: “When creativity is the normal expression of God’s people there is something that happens to all who oppose Him. They become disheartened. The devil himself has no creative abilities whatsoever. All he can do is distort and deform what God has made. God is made known through His works. When His works flow through His children their identity is revealed, and there is an inescapable revelation of the nature of God in the land. He is irresistible to those who have eyes to see.
“The four craftsmen (in Zechariah 1:18-21) were God’s answer to the four horns that had attempted to scatter His people. Those committed to skilful wisdom (artistic expression) will dismantle the strongholds of abusive power. Not only will they overcome them in a military sense, they will terrify supernatural and counterfeit powers to their core! This is the mission and outcome for entering God’s Last Days strategy of infiltrating the world system with skilful wisdom—wisdom from above.”
